Welcome to Professional
Educators of Tennessee
GIVING TEACHERS A CHOICE
Professional Educators of Tennessee (PET) is an association developed to promote the professional status and growth of educators and the welfare of students, in order to make the state of Tennessee a better place to teach and learn. Organized in the 1990-1991 school year with 67 members, PET was formed to give teachers a professional alternative to union membership. PET gives teachers a choice.
PET provides access to professional liability insurance, legal assistance, state lobbyists that represent PET only in Educational issues, state meetings with all professional members having an equal vote, and much more... all for hundreds of dollars less than union dues.
FOCUS ON EDUCATION
PET is a growing professional association of teachers that supports and gets involved only in educational issues. It does not use your name or money to endorse political candidates, nor does it use your name or money to support controversial social or gay rights issues. PET believes that there are groups that specifically address those things if teachers want to get involved. PET's focus remains exclusively on educational issues.
FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION
When an educator joins a local NEA/TEA sponsored union, they are forced to join the state (TEA) and national unions (NEA). In contrast to this, members of PET retain the option of joining other state, local, and/or national organizations. PET members retain the freedom of association that should be provided to all who teach in a right-to-work state. Professional Educators of Tennessee urge educators to check out all available organizations, what they support and what they represent, before making a decision as to which best fits their philosophy and meets their professional needs.
We look forward to working together as educators with a common goal: to do the best job we can for the education of the children with which we are entrusted.