Carolyn Crowder, the Executive Director of the Tennessee Education Association, is set to retire, according to a press release from the organization.
Tennessee Education Association Executive Director Carolyn Crowder is retiring from the association.
“Carolyn spent her career serving students and educators nationwide prior to joining TEA as executive director nearly seven years ago,” said TEA President Beth Brown. “She came on board during a rebuilding time for the association and has been instrumental in leading TEA to year-after-year membership growth during her tenure. Her leadership will be greatly missed by our members and our staff.”
Crowder came to Tennessee from Denver, where she served four years as executive director of the combined Denver Classroom Teachers Association, Denver Association of Education Office Professionals and DCTA-Retired. She previously served as president of the Oklahoma Education Association and as a member of the executive committee of the National Education Association. Crowder began her career in education as a vocal music and elementary teacher in Oklahoma.
“Over the past year, I have found several reasons to embrace the idea of retirement,” Crowder said. “I remember at my first staff meeting, a staff member asked me if I was here to ‘save’ TEA. TEA didn’t need saving. We just needed to roll up our sleeves, learn to fight for our cause a little differently and put our faith in building a member-led organizing culture. It is rewarding to reflect and see so clearly what we’ve been able to accomplish together.”
The TEA Board of Directors has named Assistant Executive Director Terrance Gibson to serve as interim executive director until Crowder’s replacement is hired later this year.
For more on education politics and policy in Tennessee, follow @TNEdReport
So, it turns out the survey on how to spend COVID-19 stimulus funds — the one claiming to seek “stakeholder” feedback — was all window dressing. As some suspected, Commissioner of Education Penny Schwinn already has a plan. In fact, it’s all explained right here in Education Week.
In Tennessee, our member and future chief alum, Penny Schwinn, understands that making up for lost time will be a multiyear effort that starts immediately. Her three-year learning plan—which should be a model for other states—retools the school year calendar with a mix of in-person and online learning, including a surge of 20 days of learning over the summer, to make up for lost days. She is revisiting every element of her strategic plan to align with the needs for quality learning at a distance, for a more robust digital infrastructure, and for frequent checks to ensure students and adults are handling these enormous shifts emotionally as well as academically. She is working on plans now to develop her own statewide online tool that will provide a system for teachers to deliver content and remediation for small groups, participate in virtual professional development, and provide resources for families, including information on meal locations. Her plan to retool time to support a coherent long-term, three-year academic plan for the students of Tennessee is bold and visionary.
UPDATE
While the Education Week article has been changed to reflect a more nuanced version of Schwinn’s response, there is a screenshot that still holds the original version as quoted above.
And, Williamson County School Board member Eric Welch is all over the changes with a series of key questions on Twitter:
So, Commissioner Schwinn has a “bold and visionary” plan she has yet to share with policymakers or parents or teachers. It includes a “surge” of summer learning. 20 days, to be specific.
It’d be nice if everyone else in the state could be clued-in to this “coherent, long-term, three-year academic plan.”
For more on education politics and policy in Tennessee, follow @TNEdReport
$100 million. That’s how much the already struggling Nashville school district is being asked to cut in the wake of the economic challenges created by the COVID-19 outbreak. The Tennessean has more:
Mayor John Cooper has asked Nashville schools to explore ways to potentially cut up to $100 million from its current budget as the coronavirus continues to take a toll on the city’s revenue collections.
As non-essential businesses remain closed and Nashville residents are spending less time outside, city officials are forecasting a $200 million to $300 million shortfall in expected taxes and other revenue for the current fiscal year.
The potential budget cuts come even as Gov. Bill Lee insisted on $41 million in state funding for his voucher scheme while cutting funds sent to districts for teacher compensation.
Teachers in Nashville already lag behind those in other districts when it comes to pay.
It’s not clear where MNPS will find room for cuts, but based on past actions, it seems likely some savings would be realized by moving more students to virtual schools. It also seems likely entire programs could be reduced or eliminated.
This difficult climate is happening in a state that clearly has yet to learn the lessons of the Great Recession. Tennessee is at least $1.7 billion behind where it should be to adequately fund schools, according to a report from the bipartisan legislative study group known as TACIR.
For more on education politics and policy in Tennessee, follow @TNEdReport
Carol Burris at the Network for Public Education highlights the way charter schools are attempting to claim COVID-19 stimulus funds meant for small businesses.
Here’s more:
Small businesses that employ our students’ parents are devastated by COVID-19. And we are glad that the Small Business Administration is giving those businesses low-interest loans to keep their employees on the payroll. It is shocking, therefore, that the National Alliance of Public Charter Schools is actively encouraging its members to take advantage of those taxpayer funds, although charter schools’ income streams have not been interrupted at all. Tell Congress that publicly funded charter schools should not be eligible for funds to save small businesses. They are still amply funded by taxpayers. Federal funding should be reserved for businesses in need.
This disappointing abuse of these funds did not happen by accident. Read below what Nina Rees, the Executive Director of the National Alliance of Public Charter Schools included in her weekly newsletter: “The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) now has authority to offer emergency loans to both small businesses and nonprofits under its Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program in eligible areas. While SBA authorities are focused on small businesses, we worked with federal lawmakers to ensure that the loan funding for this crisis is offered to charter schools and other nonprofits to borrow up to $2 million for up to 30 years at 2.75 percent for nonprofits.” By the way, some of these loans will not need to be repaid. Charters claim they need the money because they have to give out laptops to their students. So do public schools. Charters claim they may lose donations. It is doubtful that the billionaires who give them money will stop. When crises occur, billionaires do just fine. And remember, like public schools charter schools are still receiving public funds. Send your email today.
After the Tennessee Department of Education received tons of pushback from parents and teachers over a controversial survey suggesting adding summer school and/or extended school days to make up for days missed during the COVID-19 pandemic, the DOE just … changed the survey so the questions generating controversy weren’t there.
Yep. They just … changed it.
Here are some tweets explaining the changes from former TN DOE spokesperson Jennifer Johnson and some other individuals who noticed the differences:
The first picture was the survey last night. The next picture is the same question this morning. Now it’s gone all together. pic.twitter.com/A6F8U0ySaA
Yesterday, MNPS school board members Amy Frogge and Jill Speering announced they would not seek re-election. In 2019, Will Pinkston left the board, replaced by Freda Player-Peters. Now, there’s an election for some school board seats coming up in August. Here are the candidates:
District 1
Barry Barlow
Tiffany Degrafinreid
Sharon Gentry
Robert Taylor
District 3
Brian Hubert
Emily Masters
District 5
Christiane Buggs
District 7
Freda Player-Peters
District 9
Russelle Ann Bradbury
Abigail Tylor
Here are a couple of candidate tweets:
I am excited to announce my campaign for the Nashville School Board District 9 seat being vacated by @AmyFrogge. https://t.co/05pYbQrNEl
The State of Tennessee has a survey out about how to use one-time funds from the COVID-19 stimulus. Among the suggestions: somehow “making up” for the weeks/months lost in this school year by adding time to school days or adding days to coming school years.
Here’s teacher Mike Stein’s tweet with a link to the survey:
TN is conducting a survey on how to use one-time relief funds for education. If you live in TN–especially if you have any opinion at all about public education–please take a few minutes to complete this short survey. @TEA_teachers#tnedchat@TNEdReporthttps://t.co/QDq40t75xY
The results of a survey conducted by the Tennessee Education Association indicate that Tennessee’s teachers are focused on and concerned about their students during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Here’s more from a press release:
Tennessee educators are most worried about learning loss, student wellbeing and how to engage students during school closures due to the Covid-19 outbreak, according to a statewide survey published by the Tennessee Education
Association.
The survey of 319 educators across the state was conducted March 25-31 by TEA. The survey will be conducted again in coming weeks to reflect changes.
TEACHERS’ GREATEST CONCERNS:
When educators were asked “what is your greatest concern regarding the remainder the school year,” the overwhelming focus was on students. Half of all teachers cited learning loss and student wellbeing as their greatest concerns. Lost instructional
opportunities, difficult home environments, food security and the absence of social and academic engagement weigh heavily on the minds of teachers, according to the survey.
“I’ve worried so much about my kids regressing but everyone is in the same situation. Parents all have different home circumstances. For the ones working, it is hard to come home and homeschool. Some just have one computer per two-plus
kids in the home,” wrote one respondent. “We know the kids will possibly be behind but that’s ok. That’s my job!”
The impact of the disruption will remain long after the outbreak is controlled, and classes resume.
“Students will struggle when we return to school and they will struggle next year, especially in math classes, to make up for the large gap in knowledge created by this disruption,” wrote one respondent. “This must also be taken into account
when considering test scores as a factor for next year and how they impact high-stakes decisions for students as well as teachers.”
One in five teachers expressed uncertainty as their primary concern, as well as health and safety concerns for themselves and their families moving forward. One in 10 expressed professional or student accountability as the primary concern
during the closure period.
GRAPPLING WITH STUDENT ENGAGEMENT DURING THE SHUTDOWN:
When asked “what plans does your district have regarding ongoing instruction,” more than half of educators said they were allowed to work from home to provide learning opportunities that would not count for student grades, while 36% said
their school system had no current mandate on activity.
“It is clear from this survey that teachers, parents and school systems are struggling to implement strategies to continue teaching and learning. With the timing of spring breaks and the statewide school shutdown, there wasn’t much of an
opportunity to plan and organize materials,” said TEA President Beth Brown. “This is going to be an ongoing process, and we ask administrators and school boards to understand that teachers want to engage their students and promote learning as much as they
do. We all will be working to find the most effective means of doing so with safety and health in mind.”
For educators who have district instruction plans, the means of communication vary. Approximately half of teachers use the phone, text, and text apps to communicate with students, one-third use email or online platforms, and one in seven
use social media. 40% of teachers use two or more means of communication. Most teachers report spotty participation among students, even those in honors or AP classes. Inequity among students in home support and internet access were major teacher concerns.
One major issue for TEA was the widespread reports of mandatory reporting to schools after the statewide closure order. The survey found that while initially there were orders to report, only a small percentage of responders indicated they
had to physically go to the school building as part of their duties.
“I am proud of our cafeteria workers and teachers who are making sure students are fed while schools are closed,” said Brown. “I am also glad to see that systems are prioritizing public health and the safety of our educators by not requiring personnel to come into a school building.”
For more on education politics and policy in Tennessee, follow @TNEdReport
Nashville school board member Amy Frogge announced today she will not seek re-election to her seat this year. She’s served two terms and beaten well-funded opponents by a 2-1 margin in both of her past races.
Here’s her announcement:
I have struggled with the decision of whether to run again for school board during this unusual time of uncertainty and upheaval. The last few weeks – dealing with the aftermath of the tornado, the coronavirus quarantine, and a personal bout with a minor illness – have provided me with a different perspective.
When I ran in 2012, I never intended to serve more than one term. This freed me to vote simply as I saw best and to take difficult positions that were often against my own political interests. I chose to run again four years ago because I felt it was necessary given the political climate at that time.
Upon reflection this week, however, I have decided not to seek reelection this year. I am deeply grateful for the support I’ve received and the friendships I have forged during my time on the school board, as well as for the learning opportunities I’ve been provided through this position. Serving in an elected position is not for the faint of heart, but I hope I have made a positive impact, and I think it is time to step away to new endeavors. I will continue to be deeply involved in advocating for Tennessee’s students and schools and plan stay active on my social media pages.
I have decided to throw my support behind Abigail Tylor, Nashville School Board District 9, a former teacher in the Encore gifted program who taught both of my children. As a teacher and parent of children who attend MNPS schools, Abigail is well-informed about the issues and the needs in our school system, and she’ll do a wonderful job serving our community and carrying on the work that I (and others before me) have begun. With Dr. Battle now at the helm of Metro Schools and with continued good representation for our district, I truly believe great things are going to happen in MNPS over the next few years. I hope you will support Abigail in her work!
I am also excited to formally announce my new role as Executive Director of Pastors for Tennessee Children. The Pastors for Children network, which is expanding nationwide, brings together faith leaders to serve schools and to advocate statewide for public education. I’m honored to be a part of this group, and I hope you will follow my work with the Pastors, as well!
Thank you for believing in me and for the experience of serving. Please continue to support our local schools! I’ll see you in the neighborhood.
For more on education politics and policy in Tennessee, follow @TNEdReport
In a post at the Washington Post, Derek Black warns that investment in public education must not be denied in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and coming economic impacts.
Some notes:
During the Great Recession of the late 2000s, Congress hoped that most of a $54 billion set-aside in stimulus funds would be enough to save public school budgets, which had been savaged by state and local governments. It wasn’t enough.
States imposed education cuts so steep that many school budgets still have not fully rebounded — and Congress’s 2020 stimulus bill aimed at trying to save the economy from a new calamity fails to address the possibility of a sequel. Meanwhile, even before the economic effects of the current crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic are being fully felt, states are already looking to cut education funding.
If states cut public education with the same reckless abandon this time as last, the harm will be untold. A teaching profession that has spent the last two years protesting shamefully low salaries may simply break. The number quitting the profession altogether will further skyrocket — and it’s not likely there will be anyone to take their place.
The first signs of this possibility are here. In recent weeks, three states — Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee — have cut teacher salary increases for this coming year — increases intended at this late date to begin repairing the damage from the last recession. Education Week reports that teachers may lose all of an anticipated pay hike in Kentucky, and legislatures in at least five other states have not acted on salary hikes for educators.
Black notes that Tennessee is among the states not learning the lesson of the Great Recession. It’s worth noting that Tennessee’s teachers already earn less in inflation-adjusted dollars than they did all the way back in 2009.
Between FY 2016 and FY 2020, lawmakers enacted a total of $429 million in recurring increases for teacher pay. Since that time, growth in Tennessee teachers’ average pay has begun to catch up with inflation. After adjusting for inflation, however, teachers’ average pay during the 2018-2019 school year was still about 4.4% lower than a decade earlier.
So, the response to the coronavirus by Gov. Bill Lee and the General Assembly was to cut a planned investment in teacher compensation and instead fund a voucher scheme.
When (if?) the General Assembly returns in June, it will be interesting to see if commitments are made about investments in public education going forward. Tennessee is already $1.7 billion behind where we should be in school funding.
Perhaps the crisis caused by coronavirus will give lawmakers time to actually conduct a comprehensive review of our school funding formula and make necessary adjustments and improvements.
Alternatively, as Black suggests, lawmakers may look to “save money” by moving to cheaper, less reliable online learning options while foregoing investment in teachers and the resources students need.
For more on education politics and policy in Tennessee, follow @TNEdReport
