Our Story
We’re two public school teachers in Tennessee. We met last year during our first year teaching, one teaching middle school social studies, the other high school Geometry for English New Language learners. We immediately found common ground in our students, our shared frustrations, and our stubborn hope that public education can still be a force for good.
Teaching has been everything we expected and nothing like we imagined. It’s exhausting and beautiful while chaotic and grounding. And no matter how prepared we thought we were, nothing quite readied us for the emotional weight of watching policy decisions made far above our heads affect the kids sitting right in front of us.
In April of 2025, the Tennessee State Senate passed SB0836 which would allow school districts to ban undocumented children from accessing public schools. We knew we couldn’t sit with that and do nothing.
So we started Pedals for Pencils. It began as a wild idea between two exhausted first-year teachers who also really like to bike. But it quickly became something more: a way to protest what’s happening in our state, raise awareness beyond our own classrooms, and raise money for the things our students need most. Last year, we were able to raise over $15,000, and distributed that money to teachers serving migrant students in Nashville and Chattanooga, as well as organizations here in Tennessee (La Paz Chattanooga and TIRRC) that support migrant communities. More recently, we’ve brought this momentum home as we host our Pedals for Pencils Community Ride on May 16th here in Chattanooga as a way to bike, connect, and stand up for public schools and immigrant students in Tennessee.
One pedal at a time, we’re pushing back against silence, exclusion, and the steady dismantling of the public school system. Thank you for riding with us.
Meet Grace
Grace grew up in the small town of Newport, Vermont, where public schools and the outdoors shaped her deep belief in community and connection. After graduating from Yale with a degree in Economics, she moved to Tennessee to teach high school Geometry to English learners. Working with her students has been life-changing: challenging, joyful, and deeply motivating.
Grace co-founded Pedals for Pencils as a way to fight back against legislation like SB0836 and raise funds for classrooms that deserve so much more. She’s biked over 300 miles last summer and 30,000 feet of elevation to make noise, build solidarity, and protect the right to public education for every student.
Meet Kate
Kate was born and raised in Raleigh, North Carolina and graduated from UNC Chapel Hill with degrees in English and History. She now teaches middle school social studies in Chattanooga, where she’s passionate about helping students understand the world and their power to change it.
Kate helped start Pedals for Pencils to push back against harmful policies like SB0836 and to bring attention to the students, schools, and teachers being left behind. She’s biking alongside Grace summer to fund classrooms and fight for public education that includes everyone.