TENNESSEE EDUCATION ASSOCIATION CELEBRATES 157 YEARS
Thursday, July 21st, marks the 157th anniversary of the Tennessee Education Association. TEA is recognized as the state's leading advocate for educators, students, and public education for more than 150 years.
IMPACT
First organized on July 21, 1865, as the Tennessee State Teachers Association, the TEA was established to improve learning and teaching conditions in the public schools of Tennessee. The organization has operated continuously since 1865 through the Great Depression, two world wars, other wars, and through increasing attacks on public education. Without fail, TEA has maintained its leading position in advocating for support of Tennessee's schools, improving the quality of education, promoting the success of public schools, and improving the professional lives of teachers and school staff members. William Dunn Smith wrote in his doctoral thesis, History of the Tennessee Education Association, for the George Peabody School of Teaching at Vanderbilt University, “It is considered significant that most of Tennessee’s progress in public education has paralleled the growth of the Tennessee Education Association.”1
TRIVIA
1865 The first Representative Assembly was held on October 13, 1865, in the Capitol Building in Nashville, TN. The RA passed two legislative priorities for the organization to pursue during the Tennessee General Assembly:
1. Formation of a textbook adoption committee to ensure quality textbooks for all public-school students and
2. Establish a “normal” school (a school to train high school graduates to become teachers) in each of the grand divisions of the state. The association also established a platform of equal educational rights and facilities for blacks.2
1867 the School Law Bill, sponsored by TEA, passes through the Tennessee General Assembly on March 5, 1867. The law required a State Superintendent of Public Instruction (today known as the Commissioner of Education), county superintendents (now known as Directors of Schools), and separate but equal schools for Negroes.3
1867 The Representative Assembly is held November 13-14 at the Capitol Building in Nashville will the General Assembly is convened. The General Assembly suspends their session so that members (many of whom were also delegates to the Representative Assembly) could attend.4
1867 National Education Association is formed in August. Holds its first annual meeting in Nashville, Tennessee.
1874 Tennessee State Teachers Association hosts series of teacher institutes across the state during the summer to provide quality professional development to teachers. The program was conducted by six experienced and respected educators and included a four-week training program in June followed by a one-week training program in each district.5
1879 Yellow fever epidemic forces the postponement of the scheduled summer meeting of the TSTA. The meeting was rescheduled and held in Humboldt on November 7-8. Attendance remained low due to severe weather and the continued fear of plague. 6
1881 Annual meeting scheduled for October 20 in Humboldt was indefinitely postponed due to fire that destroyed the town.7
1887 W.R. Garrett, president of the TSTA presides over the largest annual meeting to date for the association. The topic of women’s rights was the prevailing topic of the meeting. This meeting was the final meeting before the association split into three distinctive associations: the Tennessee State Teachers Association, the Public-School Officers Association (now known as Tennessee Organization of School Superintendents, TOSS), and the Tennessee Association of Secondary Schools and Colleges.8
1890 TSTA holds its annual conference in Memphis July 1-3. This meeting had two significant outcomes. Mollie Pierce, Superintendent of Dyer County Schools, spoke in regard to paying teachers more—especially those with greater experience as they were the most important foundation for the school. She also in her committee report before the delegation demanded a tenure law be enacted to protect quality teachers and ensure their economic wellbeing. This was the first time the state association began advocating for teacher tenure. It isn’t until 1951 that the General Assembly takes any action on teacher tenure.9
1891 General Assembly passes legislation to provide for secondary schools.10
1893 Annual meeting of the association is cancelled due to majority of delegates wishing to attend the Chicago World’s Fair.11
1915 Annual meeting held in Chattanooga, November 25-27. Public vs. Private school controversy continues to be a point of contention among members. TSTA membership included any person involved in education or support of education and therefore membership spanned both private and public institutions and spanned elementary, secondary, and post-secondary establishments as well.12
1931 Annual meeting held in Nashville, April 2-4.
Membership continues to grow and over 5,000 members attend the convention to “impress the legislature which was still in session.”
The association calls upon the state to pay the unpaid teachers (due to the Depression) and ensure that schools are not closed, and children are left uneducated. The association was unsuccessful in getting additional appropriations from the state to pay teachers. However, the state did agree to continue to fund public education at the current levels. The association considered this a victory in the trying economic times.13
1935 Representative Assembly meets and January and votes to change the name of the Association from the Tennessee State Teachers Association to the Tennessee Education Association.14
1939 Future Teachers of America Program begins in Tennessee with the assistance of the National Education Association.
1942 Membership reaches 92.2% of all teachers.15 The Tennessee Education Association continues to grow to the point of requiring more full-time staff. The Tennessee Education Association rents two rooms on the 6th floor of the Cotton States Building for business purposes (the building was at the intersection of 6th Ave and Deaderick St.). Later TEA would add a third room.16
1945 First teacher retirement law enacted by the General Assembly. Offices of the Tennessee Education Association temporarily moved to the YMCA Building (7th Ave. and Union).17
1946 Representative Assembly votes to purchase building at 409 7th Avenue, North in Nashville for $23,000 to house the offices of the Tennessee Education Association (Tennessee State Library and Archives now sits at this location).18
1947 TEA reaches 100% membership among all teachers in the state.19 TEA’s Field Services Program continues to grow with a yearly endowment from the National Education Association.20
1951 Every local county and independent school district has its own local affiliate of the Tennessee Education Association.21 Teacher tenure law enacted.
1962 The 29th Annual Representative Assembly of the Tennessee Education Association is held at the War Memorial Auditorium in Nashville from January 12-13. Fred Crosson reports on the construction of a new TEA office building at the corner of James Robertson and 6th Avenue. Construction began on May 27, 1961, with a groundbreaking ceremony. J.B. Regen Construction Company is constructing the new building which will include “a full basement and three floors. The first floor will have an auditorium, meeting rooms, and office space. The second floor will contain offices, duplication and mailing rooms, conference rooms, workspace, and a library. The entire third floor will be rented until such time as will be necessary for our use.”22 School Bells Award Program begins.
1965 first state-sponsored kindergarten program established
1967 The Tennessee Education Association and the Tennessee Education Congress merge.
1978 Educators Professional Negotiations Act (EPNA) passed.
1982 Distinguished Educator Awards Program (DEAP) established.
1985 Duty-free lunch mandated.
1985 State health insurance plan for teachers enforced.
1986 Sixty minutes per week planning time for K-8 teachers mandated.
1990 Tuition reduction for children of public-school teachers authorized.
1992 Class size reduced due to Education Improvement Act.
1992 Kindergarten mandated.
1996 Teachers protected from performing medical procedures.
1997 Retirement benefits improved with compounded cost of living adjustment.
1998 Health insurance benefit gained for retired educators.
1999 Privacy protected for educators’ Social Security, driver’s license, and bank information from open records.
2001 Special education class size reduced.
2002 “Working conditions” clarified under the EPNA.
2003 One member of Tennessee State Board of Education required to be a K-12 teacher.
2005 $25 million in lottery funds earmarked for pre-kindergarten expansion.
2006 $250 million NEW dollars appropriated for Pre-K and K-12 programs.
2008 60, 80, 90 campaign stressed impact of inadequate salaries, insurance, and retirement on teacher quality.
2010 TEA strengthens tenure law by requiring impartial hearing officers.
2012 Teacher evaluations are not public record
2015 Added $127 million recurring funds for salary and benefits
2017 Private school vouchers defeated for 5th straight year
2018 Teachers held harmless in TNReady and K/Pre-K portfolios