Nashville education blogger TC Weber highlights what some say are significant challenges around student discipline in MNPS.
It is one of the worst-kept secrets in MNPS that the district does not want to suspend students. Every teacher with any experience has a story about a serious discipline issue that went unresolved, was sent back to the classroom or somehow disappeared from the official narrative.
Weber also calls out a cozy political relationship between the Mayor and Director of Schools:
The hidden agenda doesn’t stop at the boardroom. Hardcastle questioned Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s loyalty to MNPS Superintendent Adrienne Battle. She wonders why he hasn’t spoken publicly about the district’s obvious problems or demanded greater accountability from its leadership. Referring to Battle’s relationship with O’Connell—and to the superintendent’s “friends” working in roles across the district—Hardcastle said it seems really “cliquey.”
It seems that way because it is.
As he heads toward reelection mode, Mayor O’Connell probably needs to follow the same advice as MNPS. A prime example would be his claims of “fixing” school start times. Don’t think for one minute the public doesn’t recognize that maneuver for what it is: a political solution designed to sound larger than the actual change.
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