First Lady Returns to Partnership Schools in East Tennessee

Visits begin her second round of school visits in Carter, Unicoi, McMinn, and Hamilton counties

NASHVILLE – First Lady Crissy Haslam is in East Tennessee today and tomorrow making return trips to several area schools. Mrs. Haslam announced in May that she would partner with 10 schools across the state to focus on improving literacy rates, including Happy Valley Elementary in Johnson City, Unicoi Elementary in Unicoi, Etowah Elementary School in Etowah, and Red Bank Elementary in Chattanooga.  As part of this partnership, Haslam plans to visit these schools several times throughout the 2011-2012 school year.

“Literacy improvement is an important mission for our state because reading sets the foundation for learning,” Mrs. Haslam said.

Mrs. Haslam’s second visit to Happy Valley Elementary and Unicoi Elementary on Thursday
included meetings with school administrators, emphasizing the significance of parental engagement with guardians and parents and promoting her READ 20 message with students at each school.  Similar visits and meetings are scheduled at Etowah Elementary and Red Bank Elementary on Friday.

The Tennessee Department of Education selected the 10 partnership schools based on their 3rd grade TCAP reading scores, which were below the state average, but showed promise for great improvement. On this round of visits, Mrs. Haslam is discussing their progress and learning about their plans to increase reading proficiency.

As part of her visits to schools all across Tennessee, Mrs. Haslam will personally donate and distribute books to students at each school.