Educators in Cannon County are starting the new school year with a renewed collaborative spirit following the June signing of a new memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Cannon County Education Association (CCEA) and the local school district.

An MOU is the result of a collaborative conferencing process that brings teachers and local education stakeholders together to improve working conditions under the Tennessee Professional Educators Collaborative Conferencing Act (PECCA), established in state law. TEA has been leading efforts to expand negotiations under PECCA, as a growing number of local teachers statewide now work under contracts with their districts.

“As professional educators, we know that improving working conditions leads to better learning conditions for our students,” said CCEA President Beth Northcutt. “Here in Cannon County, we have proven that working together works. We are grateful to Cannon County Director of Schools Julie Vincent and the members of the school board for the opportunity to work together to deliver the best education to our students.”

TEA President Tanya T. Coats praised the successful conclusion of the collaborative conferencing efforts in Cannon County.

“A huge congratulations to the CCEA leaders and members on signing a brand new MOU with the district,” Coats said. “When teachers and school district leaders work together, great things happen in our public schools, which in turn strengthens our communities. We’ve seen examples of that across the state in recent years.”

To learn more about collaborative conferencing in your district, contact your UniServ Coordinator.

Photo caption:

Left to right, front row: Cannon Co. School Board Chairman Derrick Mullins, Cannon Co. EA President Beth Northcutt, and Cannon Co. Director of Schools Julie Vincent. Second Row: SPED Supervisor Dr. Jen McCrey, Cannon Co. School Board member Rebecca Tramel, and CCEA member Connie Lorance.