A Teacher’s Voice for School Board.

With more than 30 years of teaching experience, I have seen my students grow under the care of our teachers, staff, and administrators. As a leader in public education, I have seen the challenges that face our students on many fronts. Socioeconomic struggles, high-stakes testing, and the undermining of our teachers by people and organizations create a false narrative of the qualifications and skills that our teachers possess.

The most important team in a child’s school years is that of the parents and teachers. Blanket judgements of teachers, staff, and administrators of the system sets the perfect argument that schools are “failing”. Teachers value input from their students’ parents about their goals and needs. Somewhere along the line, this partnership has become adversarial, and is a detriment to the growth and success of the child. As a parent, I respected the knowledge and judgment of my son’s teachers when it came to what he needed in order to succeed.

That’s why I’m running to be the next School Board Member for the 3rd district. Our teachers have been demoralized and chastised for causing public schools to “fail”. The partnership and teamwork between parents and teachers has taken a hit, causing teachers to question if the teaching profession is worth it. I’m running to re-build that bridge once again.

Our students, our teachers, our parents, and our district deserve better.

For over 30 years, Patricia has served Knox County and its students as a teacher. She is currently serving on the school level Building Leadership Team, Behavior Team, and as a member of the Knox County Education Association.

She is an advocate for children. For years, she has served as a KCEA Building Representative, which works to ensure that our students have the best possible learning environment by representing teachers and working to ensure they have the resources they need to create a positive and productive learning experience.

As a single mother, Patricia worked hard to build her son, Malcolm, a strong home. Although they struggled, they persevered with the help of family and friends, and Malcolm graduated from Bearden High School in 2010. He now has two children with his wife, Brittney. Patricia married her husband, John, in 2019 and together they have 7 grandchildren. Patricia and John enjoy watching their family grow and flourish.

Teacher. Parent. Advocate for Children.

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Patricia Fontenot-Ridley is committed to advocating for our Knox County teachers and our students. She will work with our educators to bring support and kindness back into our schools! Patricia is dedicated to protecting public education, empowering our teachers, and fighting against the extremism targeting our children.

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