The ECF Parent Representative Center

In addition to serving the interests of parents and other education consumers directly, the Education Consumers Foundation also serves the individuals and groups that represent the interests of parents in education; these include legislators, school board members, PTA/PTO leaders, and others. The ECF Parent Representative Center, announced in fall 2007, will help these parties find independent and accurate information on education issues so that they may better serve the interests of parents and other education consumers.

We'll unveil this section soon and continue to build on it over time; in the meantime, we hope you'll take advantage of the resources listed below:

ECF Briefings
From 2001-2004, the Foundation published a series of briefings which offered concise summaries of articles, books, and reports on education. These timeless briefings offer insight and analysis on issues such as education research, systemic reform, and teacher quality.

Education Consumer Associations
The Education Consumers ClearingHouse helps parents organize local associations to advocate for effective education. While they share some of the same functions as a PTA or PTO, these Education Consumer Associations, or ECAs, are dedicated solely to serving the interests of education consumers.

The Education Consumers Consultants Network
The ECF has brought together a team of respected authorities on education issues to form the Education Consumers Consultants Network. The ECCN is available for consultation and research; to learn more, contact the Foundation.

Needed:  Truth in Grading
Recent reports on school performance show that the great majority of Tennessee's schools are in need of improvement, yet the students at my child's school seems to be doing just fine.  Are we just the fortunate exception? Read the essay here.

How Effective Are Your Child's Teachers?
Teacher effectiveness scores are calculated for all teachers who teach grades 4-8 in TN schools but they are not publicly available. However, by visiting the Tennessee Department of Education's Assessment website and clicking on the TVAAS public site, you can access grade by grade info for your child's school. While scores are reported for entire grade levels, note that many schools have only one or two teachers for each grade; while everyone can find helpful information here, those with children in smaller schools may find this information particularly useful.