Monthly Archives: May 2025

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Confirmation Delayed is Confirmation Denied?

Will Penny Schwinn finally get called to serve at the national level?

After nominating a former pro wrestling CEO with no prior teaching experience to be the Secretary of Education, President Trump nominated former TN Ed Commissioner Penny Schwinn to take a deputy role.

Only Schwinn has yet to be confirmed – and, she may never be.

As one education blogger notes:

Schwinn has yet to be confirmed or even scheduled for a hearing five months later. Last week, rumors began to circulate that the nomination was being pulled. Tennessee’s Senator Marsha Blackburn is said to be a strong “no” on Ms. Schwinn.

Apparently, the ancillary benefits of being a state level Ed Commissioner include quite an interesting array of financial connections:

Her disclosure sheet shows a financial relationship with at least 25 different organizations and an income totaling more than 1.5 million dollars.

It’s not clear whether her nomination will move forward or whether, like many associated with the current Administration, she’ll be shuffled to the “discard” pile.

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What About Another “Big, National Test?”

A Legacy of Hungry Kids and Underfunded Schools

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Does MNPS Really Want “Every Student Known?”

One parent raises some questions

Nashville education blogger and MNPS parent TC Weber suggests that some of the sloganeering over at MNPS (Metro Nashville Public Schools) doesn’t match the reality on the ground.

Metro Nashville Public Schools will gladly sell you a t-shirt stating “every child known” and then proceed to ignore those children, both gifted and struggling, whose needs fall outside of the norm.

During Teacher Appreciation Week, educators are showered with gifts and accolades while the rest of the year is spent making them feel underachieving, incompetent, and lazy. All this is done under the guise of doing what’s best for kids as if these classroom educators are unaware of the needs of the children they interact with daily.

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What’s Eating State Budgets?

National School Voucher Coupons

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TN Vouchers: Funding Discrimination

Tennessee’s school voucher scheme is set to go universal in the 2025-26 school year.

It’s bad news for the state budget – and for local schools.

It will also likely lead to bad outcomes for kids.

And not just on the academic side.

Peter Greene writes about the potential for taxpayer-funded discrimination.

This is what vouchers are about–defunding a system that has an obligation to serve all students and giving that money to a system that can discriminate against whoever for whatever reason. Operate that private system if you feel you must, but do not fund it with public tax dollars. I hope Tennessee Christian decides not to accept vouchers. Better for them, and better for the taxpayers of Tennessee.

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Robbing Food Banks and School Lunches

Trump Cozies Up to Christian Nationalists

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What’s Eating the Budget?

It’s vouchers – thanks to Gov. Bill Lee

Bill Lee’s legacy will be the undoing of Tennessee’s public education system. First, through the ill-designed TISA formula and then by way of a universal school voucher scheme.

In fact, states with existing voucher programs are already reporting budget woes:

Stateline reports:

In submitting her updated budget proposal in March, Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs lamented the rising costs of the state’s school vouchers program that directs public dollars to pay private school tuition.

Characterizing vouchers as an “entitlement program,” Hobbs said the state could spend more than $1 billion subsidizing private education in the upcoming fiscal year. The Democratic governor said those expenses could crowd out other budget priorities, including disability programs and pay raises for firefighters and state troopers.

Tennessee’s voucher scheme will cost nearly $150 million in year one – and the cost of the private school coupon plan could balloon quickly.

Of course, by the time the voucher plan eats so many state dollars that other programs are cut, Lee will no longer be governor.

Still, when public education in the state suffocates under the weight of school vouchers, there is one man who should bear the brunt of the blame: Bill Lee.

Gov. Bill Lee promoting school privatization

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A National School Voucher Scheme?

A Legacy of Hungry Kids

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Nashville Teachers: EdCo Accepting Applications

A summer workshop for Nashville teachers is accepting applications – it’s part of The Educator’s Cooperative

Details:

Our 200+ Members work at 120+ Nashville schools with a combined 89% who remain active in professional education. This retention rate is so high because we give teachers the kind of support they actually need to keep teaching. Here’s what that looks like:

  1. Access to a network of 200+ dedicated teachers who are eager to collaborate
  2. A community that supports on challenging days AND celebrates rewarding ones
  3. Customized professional learning for individual teachers based on specific needs

The workshop is July 7th-11th at University School of Nashville.

Applications here.

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National School Voucher Coupons

Winning the Race to the Bottom

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NPEF Announces Hall of Fame Honorees

The Nashville Public Education Foundation (NPEF) announced honorees for its 2025 Public Schools Hall of Fame.

The honorees this year are:

Inspiring Leader: Cane Ridge Elementary Executive Principal Dr. Chris Plummer

Inspiring Educators: Addison Barrack, a Students with Interrupted Formal Education (SIFE) educator at Antioch High School. 

Montrell Williams, an Integrated Mathematics 1 Teacher at Whites Creek High School.

Inspiring Organizations: Adroit, an organization dedicated to expanding equitable access to STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education for students of all backgrounds. Through its LEGO and robotics team, the Pioneers, Adroit empowers underrepresented youth to build foundational STEM skills and tackle real-world challenges.

Nashville Tools for Schools, an organization working to “build for our children’s future” by building custom furniture, shelving and storage cabinets, and outdoor items for MNPS schools. Nashville Tools for Schools leverages retired community members with skills in woodworking to create items that enhance libraries and classrooms across the district.

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Vouchers: Here, There, Everywhere

A Legacy of Hungry Kids, Underfunded Schools

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Vouchers All Over

The incessant push to destroy public education

Over at The Education Report, I note that vouchers are not just a problem in Tennessee, they may soon be a national disaster:

From Arizona to DC, the agenda is becoming increasingly clear: privatizers are after our public schools, and they’re aiming to totally dismantle public education, replacing it with an unaccountable, voucherized, for-profit free-for-all that will undermine quality education for generations.

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Another Call for “One Big Test”

TN Winning Race to the Bottom

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National Voucher Madness

House Republicans are not only busy cutting Medicaid, but also working on dismantling American public education while giving the very wealthy a nice tax break.

Yes, a national school voucher scam – supported by President Trump and backed by his former Education Secretary, Betsy DeVos – is taking shape as part of the current budget wrangling.

Here’s what one group that analyzed the bill said:

“. . . we estimate that this tax avoidance maneuver would deprive the federal government and state governments of more than $2 billion in capital gains tax revenue over the next decade. This would come on top of the roughly $21.5 billion cost of the tax credit itself, bringing the net total revenue loss to over $23.6 billion.“

If you wanted to undermine public education – even in states like Kentucky with no vouchers or charter schools – this would be the way to do it.

As an example, Tennessee public school districts are estimated to lose more than $50 million in state investment in year one of the state’s new, universal school voucher scheme.

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A Sad Legacy for Lee

Yes, Money Matters for Schools

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Voucher Coupon Scheme Starts NOW

May 15th is the launch of TN’s new, $1.1 billion voucher scheme

Gov. Bill Lee spent significant time and energy during his term attempting to pass a universal school voucher scheme that would provide coupons for discounted admission to private schools.

He finally convinced the legislature to pass this plan during a special legislative session early this year. In 2019, lawmakers passed a limited voucher plan – for only Memphis and Nashville – and then expanded that to Chattanooga.

The early results from that plan suggest it isn’t “working” – if by working one means helping students improve academic outcomes.

Results from other states show vouchers consistently cost a ton of money and fail to produce results.

No matter, Tennessee lawmakers are all-in.

So, here we are.

And some lawmakers are issuing a final warning about the dangerous territory Tennessee is about to enter:

Tennessee Senate Democrats said school vouchers will cost state taxpayers more than $1 billion. They also warned the plan could lead to less state funds for public schools. As a result, the Democrats are calling the plan a “billion-dollar boondoggle.”

The plan calls for 20,000 vouchers worth $7295 each to be available for students in grades K-12 to use at the private school of their family’s choice.

Gov. Bill Lee promoting school privatization

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Is it Time for Super NAEP?

Trump Administration Leaves More Kids Hungry

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Oliver to Headline “Hope in Action” Banquet

Nashville Organized for Action and Hope (NOAH) will host its annual “Hope in Action” banquet on May 29th. This year’s featured speaker: State Sen. Charlane Oliver, a staunch defender of public education.

NOAH says of Oliver:

This year’s keynote speaker is Tennessee State Senator Charlane Oliver, a trailblazing advocate
for equity and justice. Senator Oliver, co-founder of The Equity Alliance, has been instrumental
in advancing voting rights and empowering marginalized communities across Tennessee. Her
address will focus on the power of grassroots organizing and the importance of sustained civic
engagement.

The event is on Thursday, May 29th from 6:00-8:00 PM at the Boone Business Building on the campus of Trevecca Nazarene University.

cityscape of nashville tennessee at dawn
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Do We Need a SUPER NAEP?

A Legacy of Leaving Hungry Kids Behind