Parents and Educators Lead the for Early Care and Education
Every decision about early care and education in Tennessee — how it’s funded, whether families can access it, whether our kids start kindergarten ready or already behind — is made by the people we elect.
And those people are chosen in primaries where most of us never show up. Every two years elections are held for all of TN’s 99 state House of Representatives seats (2 year terms) and half of the 33 state Senate seats (4 year terms). These state policymakers — who comprise the Tennessee General Assembly— make decisions each year on how to invest the state’s ~$60 Billion annual budget. Our message to them: invest in ECE because the first years last a lifetime.
Find who’s up for election or re-election in your state house and senate districts at TN Secretary of State website.
The parents working two jobs to afford childcare. The educators showing up every day to classrooms that need more than they’re given. The families sitting on waitlists. The communities watching childcare centers close. All of us care deeply about this issue. But on primary day, most of us aren’t at the polls.
Steps for Reps TN is a movement to change that.
Parents and early educators across Tennessee are organizing community walks to early voting locations to make one thing clear: the people who care about early care and education are organized, they are paying attention, and they vote. SIGN UP TO LEAD NOW!
This is not a rally. This is not a protest. This is parents pushing strollers, educators walking beside them, and neighbors joining in — heading to early voting together to cast their ballots and send a message that is impossible to ignore.
Our goal: every one of Tennessee’s 99 House districts has a walk during early voting. Led by parents. Led by educators. Led by the people who know their communities best.
Why This Matters
The primary election is where Tennessee’s leaders are really chosen. But most voters skip it entirely. The people who do show up — a small fraction of registered voters — decide who represents all of us.
That means a handful of voters are making decisions about whether early care and education gets funded. Whether working parents get support. Whether our kids walk into kindergarten ready to learn or already a step behind.
Parents and early educators are the largest group of people in Tennessee who care about this issue. When we show up together, we aren’t just casting a vote — we’re showing every candidate on the ballot that early care and education has a constituency that cannot be ignored.
One parent voting is a choice. Hundreds of parents walking to the polls together is a movement.
Why Parents and Educators — Together
Parents know this issue because they live it. The cost of care. The waitlists. The impossible math of working and raising children at the same time. The worry about whether their child is getting what they need in those critical earliest years.
Early educators know this issue because they see it. The children who arrive ready to thrive and the ones who never had the chance. The families stretched thin. The gap between what kids need and what the system provides. They do this work every day because they believe every child deserves a strong start.
When parents and educators walk to the polls together, it tells a story that no statistic can. It says: the people closest to this issue — the ones raising the children and the ones teaching them — are united. And they vote.
That is the power of Steps for Reps TN.
Three Ways to Get Involved
1. Lead a Walk in Your District
This is the heartbeat of the movement. We need parents and early educators in every district who are willing to organize a community walk to an early voting location.
You don’t need political experience. You don’t need a big following or a budget. You need to care about early care and education and be willing to bring your community together.
When you sign up to lead, here’s what happens:
You’ll be invited to three free online training sessions that will be lead by TQEE in partnership with Save the Children Action Network TN, where we walk you through everything — how to plan your route, how to recruit participants, how to promote your event, and how to make your walk visible and impactful. You’ll get a complete toolkit with talking points, social media content, and event planning resources. And you’ll join a network of parent and educator leaders across Tennessee who are doing the same thing in their communities.
Every event is district-based and community-driven. There is no one-size-fits-all template. You know your community better than anyone. We give you the tools. You create what’s right for your neighbors.
There is no cost to participate. Just your time, your voice, and your commitment to showing up for Tennessee’s youngest learners.
Our goal is 99 districts with a walk during early voting. Your district needs a leader. It could be you.
👉 Sign up to lead a walk in your district →
2. Participate in Your Area’s Walk
Not ready to lead — but ready to show up? That matters just as much.
When a parent or educator in your community organizes a Steps for Reps TN walk, they need people to walk with them. Every person who joins — with a stroller, with their kids, with a sign, or just with their presence — adds to the visibility and the power of the message.
One parent walking to the polls is a vote. Fifty parents walking together is a statement that every candidate and every camera will notice.
Here’s how to join a walk near you:
Sign ups will be listed at the end of June. As walks are organized across the state, we will connect you with the leader in your area so you know when, where, and how to join.
You’ll also receive updates about the movement, shareable content to spread the word, and resources about early care and education in Tennessee.
3. Spread the Word
Can’t lead a walk or join one yet? You can still make a difference right now — today — by helping us reach the parents and educators who will.
The biggest challenge in any movement is making sure people know it exists. Every share, every text, every conversation at pickup or in the break room puts Steps for Reps TN in front of someone who might be the leader their district needs.
Here’s how to spread the word:
Share this page. Send it to the parents and educators in your life. Text it to your group chat. Post it on your social media. The link is simple: tqee.org/steps-for-reps
Talk about it. Mention Steps for Reps TN at your PTA meeting, your staff meeting, your church group, your playdate. Tell people what it is: parents and educators walking together to early voting locations to make early care and education impossible to ignore.
Use #StepsForReps. Every time you post about early care and education, about the primary, about why voting matters for kids — add the hashtag. We’re building something that candidates and media will notice. The more voices using it, the louder it gets.
Follow TQEE on social media for shareable graphics, videos, and updates as the movement grows.
You don’t have to walk to be part of this. You just have to make sure the right people know the walk is happening.
The Bottom Line
Early care and education is not a side issue. It is the foundation that everything else is built on. When children get a strong start, they stay on grade level longer, need less intervention, graduate at higher rates, and contribute more to their communities. When families have access to quality, affordable care, parents can work, businesses can grow, and communities thrive.
But none of that happens automatically. It happens because the people who make the decisions — our elected representatives — choose to invest. And they will only choose to invest if they know we’re watching.
Steps for Reps TN is how we show them.
Parents and educators. Every district. Walking to the polls together during early voting. Making early care and education visible, unavoidable, and on the record.
This movement is led by you. Not by politicians. Not by organizations. By parents who are tired of being invisible at the polls and educators who are tired of being undervalued in the budget. By people who believe that investing in Tennessee’s earliest learners is investing in Tennessee’s future — and who are ready to walk like it.
