Tennessee
State Government
Governor
Bill Lee (R)
State Senate
6
Democrats,
27
Republicans
State House
24
Democrats,
75
Republicans
Economic well-being - Tennessee
Extreme poverty rate
0.1
Food insecurity
0.156
Minimum wage
7.25
Percent of working families under 200% of the poverty line
0.314
Poverty rate
13.5%
Unemployment rate
3.6
Number of Black or African American children living in families where no parent has full-time, year-round employment
Number of Hispanic or Latino children living in families where no parent has full-time, year-round employment
Percent of individuals who are uninsured
9.7
Poverty by demographic - Tennessee
Child poverty rate
0.19
Number of Asian and Pacific Islander children below 200% poverty
4000
Number of Black or African American children below 200% poverty
157000
Number of Hispanic or Latino children below 200% poverty
104000
Senior poverty rate
12.2 %
Women in poverty
3,611,301
The Tennessean, September 27, 2012: LEAD founder starts initiative to increase low-income grads going to college
"A Nashville educator is touting citywide teamwork as a pivotal aspect of tripling the number of low-income, college-ready graduates by 2020. Jeremy Kane, founder and CEO of LEAD Public Schools, a Nashville charter school system, announced the formation of Nashville Commits on Wednesday after returning from the Clinton Global Initiative, a three-day conference that ended Tuesday in New York City."
The Tennessean, August 23, 2012: 'Net cast against poverty in East Nashville neighborhood
"Any effort to help children pull themselves out of poverty through education would have a way, these days, to improve their access to the Internet, and a Nashville neighborhood has a cutting-edge idea for how to do it. A new proposal would put high-speed Internet connections and Web-surfing devices into 1,200 poor households in East Nashville at no cost to families."
Chattanooga Times Free Press, August 17, 2012: Some low-income schools score higher on state exams
"Park Creek -- the highest poverty-level school in the Dalton School district -- has multiple extra challenges such as some students learning English in class. But the elementary is an exception to the rule when it comes to high-poverty schools, scoring higher than most other schools in the district in each of the core subjects in third grade on the state's Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests."
The Tennessean, August 12, 2012: (Editorial) Ruling doesn't solve school disparities
"Economic inequity is the great conundrum schools and minority families face. If it were purely about racism, there is a clear remedy in the court system and in the Constitution. Instead, the need is for new funding partners for schools that have high numbers of low-income students. Continually pouring money into the same, already affluent school year after year is of limited value if that school shares a district with many struggling schools."
Chattanooga Times Free Press, March 28, 2012: Many start college but don't graduate
"'The big picture is that the unemployment rate for recent college graduates, 23- and 24-year-olds, is around 8 or 9 percent,' he said. 'If you are a high school graduate, it's about 24 percent, and 36 percent for a high school dropout. 'The reality is that you are far better off if you have a college degree.'"
Knoxville News-Sentinel, March 4, 2012: C-N students help build new homeless shelter
"About a dozen students showed up to work at the site of a new Samaritan House, which will quadruple the size of the existing homeless shelter run by Carson-Newman College's auxiliary ministry, Appalachian Outreach."