At Scale Newsletter: August 2026
We are excited to share the latest edition of our At Scale Newsletter! This month, we celebrate a new SCORE AI Innovation Fund award, kick off the Prosperity Tour across all 67 counties we serve and welcome MemAccess coaches into Memphis high schools for the fall semester. Each of these efforts drives our shared mission to Build Tennessee's Future Workforce.
tnAchieves Named a SCORE AI Innovation Fund Recipient
Thank you to SCORE for selecting tnAchieves to be a recipient of their AI Innovation Fund.
This funding will support the creation of new AI tools that connect students directly to their local workforce, helping more Tennessee students explore the pathways that lead to valuable credentials, high-demand careers and economic prosperity. The work builds on tnAchieves' coaching model, giving students clearer, more personalized next steps as they move from high school to college to career.
tnAchieves joins a group of organizations across Tennessee advancing innovative, student-centered uses of AI in education. We are grateful to SCORE for investing in this work, and we look forward to sharing what we learn as it develops.
Read more about the SCORE AI Innovation Fund recipients.
The Prosperity Tour Begins
Have you registered for your local stop yet? Visit tnachieves.org/your to find your county and register today.
The Prosperity Tour begins today, bringing tnAchieves to all 67 counties served by our programs over the next six weeks.
The tour builds directly on the findings of the 2026 Prosperity Report, which found that tnAchieves graduates will generate an estimated $40.6–$45.9 billion in lifetime earnings, a direct return on helping more Tennessee students complete a postsecondary credential. Prosperity like this does not stay in one place. It extends to families, to local businesses and to the communities students call home.
Each stop connects local leaders, school partners, employers and community members to the students and outcomes behind the numbers. Along the way, we will build new partnerships, expand job shadowing opportunities and grow our mentor network, all part of connecting more Tennessee students to pathways from high school to college to career.
The tour officially kicks off today. Register for a stop near you, and follow along as we travel the state.
MemAccess Coaches Are Now In Schools Across Memphis
This fall, MemAccess is fully underway inside Memphis-Shelby County Schools.
Following the July kickoff at Sylvamo, tnAchieves college access coaches are now embedded across 15 MSCS high schools, working directly with approximately 2,040 seniors this school year. Coaches are meeting with students where they are, helping them complete the milestones that lead to college enrollment, from FAFSA filing to application deadlines to choosing the right next step after graduation.
MemAccess reflects the same model tnAchieves has used across the state: students first, community partners at the table and clear next steps at every turn. None of this work happens without strong partnership. Thank you to Slingshot Memphis and MDRC for building MemAccess alongside tnAchieves, and to FedEx, JPMorgan, the Kresge Foundation and Sylvamo for the investment that made this launch possible.
Memphis students now have more people in their corner as they head into the school year. tnAchieves is proud to be one of them.
