The Tennessee Education Association announced this week its endorsement of State Sen. Lowe Finney (D-Jackson) for the State Senate District 27 race.
“Lowe Finney has been a tireless advocate for Tennessee teachers, and I know he’ll continue to be there for our schools in the years to come,” said TEA Immediate Past President Earl Wiman. “We fully support Lowe Finney for State Senate.”
TEA is Tennessee’s largest professional organization, representing over 55,000 elementary and secondary teachers, school administrators, education support professionals, higher education faculty, and students preparing to become teachers.
Finney co-sponsored a measure to provide $65 million in federal education money to the Teacher Professional Development Fund.
The fund will provide the first dedicated teacher training money in Tennessee history, and was a major part of the state’s Race to the Top application that earned Tennessee $500 million in federal education dollars.
“Well-trained teachers result in well-educated students,” Finney said.
Speaking of his mother, Amy Finney, a recently-retired Dresden Elementary School teacher, Finney said, “Teachers continue to make sacrifices to create a better future for our children. My mother certainly did, and they deserve all the support we can give them.”
Finney also passed legislation requiring that the state’s annual student assessment test, TCAP, count toward a percentage of students’ grades and be administered during a set timeframe. The measures increase accountability for students while giving teachers the ability to plan accordingly for the annual exam.
The TEA endorsement is the second in as many days for Finney, who also received the backing of the Tennessee Professional Fire Fighters Association.