ABOUT US
Education can break the cycle of of poverty. We provide access to education by supplying Standard School Attire for economically disadvantaged students.
Mission:
Equip. Empower. Thrive.
Equipping students to achieve excellence by minimizing the stresses of financial hardship and lack of resources to empower them to thrive academically, socially, and professionally to become the leaders of tomorrow. We provide the fundamentals essentials to breaking the cycle of poverty.
Vision:
The vision of Dressed for the Test is to provide Standard School Attire (SSA) for every student that is required to comply with SSA standards to attend public school.
We seek to eliminate barriers to academic, social, and professional success that are driven by financial hardships and/or lack of resources. Today's economically disadvantaged students will thrive as the leaders of tomorrow and will have the essential fundamentals to break the cycle of poverty.
The Need:
According to the 2014 Education Report Card, our public school system served 82,806 students in 2014, 73% of which were economically disadvantaged and qualified for free or reduced lunches1. The year 2014 continued the seven-year enrollment growth trajectory, a trend that is likely to continue for many years to come. As enrollment growth continued, the number of economically disadvantaged students was directly proportional to the overall growth rate. This suggests that the need for SSA will only grow in the coming years.
Our public school system currently consists of 86 elementary schools and 49 middle schools, most of which require students to comply with SSA. According to the 2014-2014 Annual Report, we had 35,816 elementary school students and 22,852 middle school students enrolled in public schools. These elementary and middle school students represent over 70% of our total enrollment. For the 2015-2016 school year, we have 68 Title I elementary schools and 45 Title I middle schools, which account for the vast majority of elementary and middle schools in our public school system.
Dressed for the Test is presented by TN Educational Alliance, an exempt organization as described in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.