By Meili Powell, Assistant Director of Advocacy & Engagement

This past year, EdTrust-Tennessee gathered for Regional Roundtables across Tennessee – Chattanooga, Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville, and Johnson City – with a shared understanding: 2026 will be a defining year for public education.

At a moment marked by sweeping federal changes, uncertainty at the state level, and real consequences for students, families, and educators, analyzing policy from afar was not enough. We needed spaces that could bridge policy and community, spaces to reflect, learn, and activate together. That belief sparked our Regional Roundtables.

For me, this work is deeply personal. I began my education career as an elementary school educator in Memphis, and my former students remain at the center of my heart. Memphis is a city that has faced generations of systematic disinvestment. More recently, Memphis has been targeted by the dangerous and ongoing deployment of the National Guard, which disproportionately threaten communities and students of color.

And yet, I have also witnessed something powerful: educators and community partners showing up for students every single day, often with limited resources and enormous expectations. I’ve seen how local wins—driven by coalition, organizing, and community voice—can expand what feels possible. That perspective shaped how we approached every regional roundtable.

Each gathering was intentionally rooted in community spaces. In Memphis, we met at the National Civil Rights Museum, a setting that underscored a fundamental truth: education equity is inseparable from the broader struggle for civil rights and dignity for all. 

Across the state, more than sixty organizations joined us as co-hosts through the Tennessee Alliance for Equity in Education, bringing regional expertise, lived experience, and deep commitment to students. Together, we created something powerful. A space to connect, to name both crisis and opportunity, and to leave grounded in hope for the future.

Why Regional Roundtables & Coalition Building Matters

Policy work is people work. And policy is most effective  when it reaches communities in meaningful ways.

These gatherings brought together educators, students, parents, advocates, and policymakers to explore what federal, state, and local shifts mean on the ground. While content was similar, each event was responsive to regional differences by featuring many local partners who were activating our shared policy agenda. 

The Tennessee Alliance for Equity in Education, established in 2021, exists because no single organization can do this work alone. Through engagement, research, and collective action, the Alliance works to expand excellence and equity from preschool through college—especially for students who have been underserved.

Building on Alliance partner activation from 2025, these roundtables reaffirmed a core truth: the most durable change happens when we build power together. Early childhood advocates, K-12 leaders, higher education partners, and community organizations all have a role to play in shaping a shared vision for Tennessee’s students.

What We Learned from the Roundtables

Each event included a regional presentation, partner spotlights, and data walk. Across all five regions, several themes emerged clearly:

  • People need spaces to reflect and act. 99.5% of attendees valued the opportunity to make sense of complex federal and state changes together and what those shifts mean for them as educators, parents, students, and advocates.
  • Regional relationships matter. Even within Tennessee, education challenges and opportunities look different by region. Creating space for local organizations to connect strengthened pathways for engagement both locally and statewide.
  • Hope is essential. In a difficult moment of crisis, people are left energized by what’s possible right now, which the Regional Roundtables reflected local existing actions for community members to engage in.

What Comes Next in 2026

The roundtables were just the beginning. As we look ahead, our focus is clear:

As our Regional Roundtables highlighted, the power of this moment is the ability to connect local impact with statewide change. Stay connected with us during this pivotal year. It is essential that all of us ensure that education equity remains front and center, not just in moments of crisis, but in the long-term work of building a more just Tennessee.