Portal

What is TIGER? 

The Tennessee Initiative for Gifted Education Reform is a rapidly growing network of parents, educators, administrators, legislators, and the general public working to foster an understanding of all gifted children and their exceptional needs and to advocate for the appropriate education of all students.  More than 700 families are part of the TIGER network and several thousand parents and educators receive TIGER literature at their schools. 

 What has TIGER accomplished this year?

TIGER worked in partnership with the Tennessee Association for the Gifted, the Tennessee PTA, the Tennessee School Boards Association, the Department of Education, and other groups to defeat recent legislation targeting gifted education in Tennessee.   The proposed legislation would have removed the mandate in state law to identify and serve gifted students.  TIGER maintained an almost daily presence in the General Assembly for more than eight weeks and made a presentation at an education committee hearing.   State legislators reported that during this legislative session they received more visits, calls and email promoting gifted education than any other issue.

TIGER significantly raised the public’s awareness of the academic, social, and emotional needs of gifted children.  In the last five months, TIGER provided the press with information that was included in more than 20 newspaper articles and television stories, including three front-page articles.

TIGER lobbied the Tennessee congressional delegation to support increased federal funding for gifted education.   As a result of this effort, six of Tennessee’s nine U.S. Representatives signed an appropriations letter requesting $25 million for gifted education as part of the “Leave No Child Behind Act.”

How to get involved

Please go to the IMMEDIATE CONCERNS page to see how you can help.

TIGER does not currently charge dues or keep a membership roll.  However, interested parents, teachers, and the general public are strongly encouraged to subscribe to the newsletter. The newsletter helps the TIGER network stay connected and informed. 

To receive the newsletter, send a blank email to TIGERadvocate-subscribe@yahoogroups.com