Nashville Area Chamber Of Commerce

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Chamber Education Initiatives

Nashville-Area Education Guide
The Nashville Area Chamber created this brochure to introduce you to our schools and help you choose the school that is the best fit for your family.

Middle Tennessee Higher Education Economic Impact Study
This Chamber-funded economic impact study says Middle Tennessee colleges and universities have a total economic impact of $5.5 billion.

Education Report Card Committee
This Chamber-convened committee issues an annual report on the progress of Metro Nashville Public Schools.

SuccessPAC
The Chamber's political action committee, SuccessPAC, was established in 1998 to identify, endorse and support highly qualified candidates for the Metro Board of Public Education.

Mayor's First Day Festival
The Chamber is a leading partner in this annual community celebration.

SuccessPAC

The Nashville Area Chamber established its political action committee, SuccessPAC, in 1998 to help identify and elect highly qualified members to the Metro Board of Public Education. In the August 2006 elections, SuccessPAC announced its support for five candidates, four of whom were elected to the school board.

Of the nine Metro school board seats, five are up for election in August 2008. Given the recent issues over the school district's standing under No Child Left Behind, this year's election may be one of the most important school board elections in Nashville's history. The Chamber's political action committee, SuccessPAC, has announced its support for five Metro School Board candidates in the Aug. 7 election. To determine these endorsements, SuccessPAC interviewed candidates across the five districts up for election.

The endorsed candidates are:

Sharon Gentry, district 1
Mark North, district 3
Cordenus Eddings, district 7
Lee Limbird & Alan Coverstone, district 9
Click here to view the SuccessPAC news release.

Why vote for the endorsed candidates?

The SuccessPAC board held numerous discussions on the state of public education and the Chamber's interest in how the school board functions. After identifying key qualities of an ideal candidate, the group then designed a questionnaire around these characteristics and delivered it to all potential and registered candidates. Upon receipt of the completed questionnaire, the candidates received an invitation to interview with the SuccessPAC board.

The endorsed candidates share the key qualities of an ideal candidate, including:

A desire to work as a unified board and avoid the fragmenting that has been displayed over the past few years;
A passion for public school education, either through professional experience or community involvement;
An understanding of the role of a board member and the overall leadership process;
Valuing school choice options for parents; and
An understanding of individual district concerns, combined with a commitment to seeing the big picture for the larger community.

Why should you vote in the upcoming elections?

This summer's election may prove to be one of the most important in Nashville's history. According to the Chamber-sponsored Citizens Panel for a Community Report Card, the school district is making significant progress in certain areas; however, there is much work still to do in order to lead the district out of Corrective Action status under No Child Left Behind. District Map

Click here to open a detailed district map. Zoom in to find your street and see what district you live in (

).

Key Dates

Early voting begins Friday, July 18.

Election Day is Thursday, Aug. 7.

Absentee ballots are available now. A ballot will be mailed to you if you will not be able to vote in person on Election Day. For more information, call 615-862-8815.

How to get involved

Top three ways to get involved:

mhill@nashvillechamber.com.