TC Weber notes that a new nonprofit wants to essentially end public education in the Volunteer State.
But a new nonprofit, Tennessee Leads, has even bigger ambitions: 200,000 voucher students and 250,000 in charter schools by 2031.
If those goals are met, traditional public schools would serve just 550,000 students—a seismic shift.
Gov. Lee and Speaker Sexton want to double the number of voucher students in 2026 – from 20,000 to 40,000 – with a total of 100,000 by 2030. But, Tennessee Leads is pushing for more than that.
The result of meeting this goal would be a rise in unaccountable private education sources – and an end to traditional public education in our state.
A press release from the Nashville Public Education Foundation (NPEF) highlights Nashville’s 2025 Blue Ribbon Teachers:
Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) and Nashville Public Education Foundation (NPEF) designated 25 educators as new Blue Ribbon Teachers at a ceremony hosted by Vanderbilt University on October 30. Each Blue Ribbon teacher received a $2,000 cash prize, professional headshots, a trophy, media mentions and two round-trip airline tickets, courtesy of Southwest Airlines. Since 2014, the Blue Ribbon Teacher awards have recognized and celebrated more than 475 of Nashville’s top teachers.
The 2025 winners are:
Courtney Antonello, H. G. Hill Middle
Brooke Adler, Martin Luther King Jr. Magnet
Tony Berg, Wright Middle
Deanna Boorsma, Meigs Middle Magnet
Hudson Christian, Stratford STEM Magnet High
Christopher Collins, Hume-Fogg Magnet High
Sarah Diaz, Maplewood High
Abbie Gunkel, Charlotte Park Elementary
Manda Hackney, Tusculum Elementary
Heather Hall, East Nashville Magnet High
Samira Hardcastle, John F. Kennedy Middle
Dr. Brittany Harrington, Cockrill ES
Maegan Hickey, Cambridge Early Learning Center
Joshua Latham, Republic High
Matthew Laurence, Hume-Fogg Magnet High
Valerie McAnally, Cole Elementary
Jennifer Murray, Hume-Fogg Magnet High
Meredith Musgrove, Paragon Mills Elementary
Marti Profitt, Nashville School of the Arts
Likisha Rhodes, Cane Ridge High
Alex Robinson, John Overton High
Zakeisha Appleton Smith, Tusculum Elementary
Mary Alice Strickler, KIPP High School
Debbie West, Waverly-Belmont Elementary
Courtney Williams, Martin Luther King Jr. Magnet
“Teaching is an admirably tough profession that requires creativity, patience and unwavering commitment. We are so proud to honor the top teaching talent in our city each year and show Nashville how educational excellence can help students thrive, said Dr. Diarese George, NPEF President & CEO. “The Blue Ribbon Teacher designation recognizes the hard work of these teachers and shines a spotlight on the innovation and leadership that happens daily in MNPS classrooms.”
NPEF Blue Ribbon Teacher Awards held at the Wyatt Rotunda
Nashville education blogger TC Weber takes a look at a debate over words in Sumner County – and argues that words matter:
Let’s talk about Sumner County, where a school board meeting turned into a culture war showdown over whether to call the December school break “Winter Break” or “Christmas Break.”
The name had been “Winter Break” for over 30 years—until last year, when the board changed it to “Christmas Break” without public input.
Board member Wade Evans admitted, “We did a bad job as a board because we did not represent everyone.”
Others disagreed. Member Andy Lacy said, “Christmas is Christmas. Why do we have to offend the masses to appease the 1%?”
This is the kind of debate that often gets passed off as minor or symbolic, but it reveals something deeper: who gets to define the public space, and whose identity is centered by default. Language matters—especially in public education, where every student is supposed to feel seen. It’s not just about semantics; it’s about belonging.
Katya Schwenk takes a deeper dive into this horror-scape.
Academic instruction in Price’s schools is delivered via a suite of online education apps for two hours per day, leaving the afternoons free for Cybertruck construction and tech CEO make-believe. This is the brand around which her work revolves: 2 Hour Learning, which is billed as an “AI tutor” that can entirely replace all classroom teachers via a few hours spent glued to a laptop screen.
And, this bad idea is multiplying:
Buoyed by the hype, 2 Hour Learning is seeing rapid expansion. In January, Price was approved to launch a virtual charter school in Arizona, 2 Hour Learning’s first foray into public education. The company claims that this fall, seven new brick-and-mortar private schools, from New York to Florida to California, will open their doors to students.
Lee, who’s out of state this week on an economic trip to Asia, has thus far declined to tap state resources to help mitigate the loss of more than $145 million in monthly food aid intended for the state’s poorest residents – among them more than 300,000 children living in poverty.
The Tennessee Justice Center explains the challenges faced by the loss of SNAP:
On November 1, over 700,000 Tennesseans will face the unthinkable loss of access to the food they depend on through SNAP.
For the first time in history, we are up against an unnatural disaster. Families across Tennessee will be forced to make impossible choices about meals, bills, and basic needs as food support disappears.
Lee has directed state resources to launch a website that provides information on where Tennesseans can find food assistance – though the Governor is not directing additional state funds to help provide this assistance.
Lee announced that the FeedTN.org platform will connect Tennesseans with resources and opportunities to serve.
“Instead of serving 700,000 Tennessee children through Summer EBT, TDHS’s program will reach a max of 25,000 children. Despite spending nearly as much as it would take to serve the entire state, the Tennessee program will reach less than 4% of the children that received Summer EBT in 2024.”
Lee rejected $75 million in federal funds that would have supported a program to add funds to EBT cards for families whose kids receive free/reduced lunch during the school year.
The Nashville Public Education Foundation (NPEF) is celebrating 25 teachers in a “Blue Ribbon Teachers” event.
More from an email:
Please join us in congratulating the 25 educators named Blue Ribbon Teacher award winners this year! These talented and dedicated teachers demonstrate an exceptional commitment to ensuring all students thrive and have earned the Blue Ribbon Teacher designation in this year’s award categories of leadership, instruction, and student success and opportunity. We are thrilled to honor them and are grateful for all they do for our public schools and community!
The Nashville Public Education Foundation (NPEF) offers the following professional learning opportunities:
Teacherpreneur
Are you a Nashville public school educator with an innovative idea for improving student outcomes? Teacherpreneur is a unique opportunity to focus on an issue you are passionate about, research the root causes of the issue, and develop a solution and implementation plan to help advance the positive change you wish to see. Teacherpreneur is a professional learning cohort experience for educators who are looking to grow as teacher leaders, expand their networks, and learn how to make changes that last.
At the end of the 5-session experience, Teacherpreneurs will present their ideas at a pitch event to a panel of judges. Top concepts are awarded a collective $25,000 in cash prizes ($10,000 for first place, $7,500 for second place, $5,000 for third place, and $2,500 for the community favorite award). The top three concepts receive access to additional seed funding to implement their ideas.
Are you passionate about supporting public schools and are looking for ways to get involved? Leadership Public Education is a leadership development cohort experience over the course of six months designed to grow participants’ knowledge and skills as public schools advocates. Cohort members will learn from experts about key topics related to Metro Nashville Public Schools, including school funding, education policy, and talent pipelines.
The Leadership Public Education program, in partnership with the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, is designed to help participants learn more about the unique challenges and opportunities facing our public schools and position them to serve in community leadership roles that benefit our students, schools, and district.
The Educators’ Cooperative, or EdCo, provides professional support and connection for teachers in Nashville.
In a recent email newsletter, the group celebrated some successes:
We are on track to exceed 2024’s annual total, increasing the opportunities, professional support options, and cross-sector, interschool connectedness for EdCo’s mutual aid network of 253 incredible teachers.
We are extremely proud of the growth we’ve made that allows us to provide these opportunities to our teachers—so they can get what they need to keep teaching and better serve their 107,361 students, regardless of sector or school!
The newsletter also highlighted the work of teacher and EdCo member Addison Barrack:
One example of Addison’s impact can be seen in the many awards she’s gleaned from the Nashville Public Education Foundation. When working at Margaret Allen Middle School, Addison was named one of Nashville’s “Blue Ribbon Teachers”. Then, she was recognized as a “Teacherpreneur” award winner for her project designing a flexible school environment for students who need to work and attend school simultaneously. This September, NPEF again awarded Addison, this time naming her an Annette Eskind Inspiring Educator in the “Public Schools Hall of Fame.”
What I notice most in Nashville’s public schools is the resilience, creativity and excellence that shines through every day from teachers and students. At its core, the story of Metro schools is the story of who we are as a city, and the story of who we are becoming.
Public schools are where possibility meets empowerment — the kind of hope, connection and work that can change generations.
Public education belongs to the whole city. It is the heartbeat of a thriving, just and equitable Nashville that ensures our children are seen, supported and set up to lead lives of purpose and impact.
It represents the promise that every child, no matter their neighborhood, language, race or background, has the opportunity to dream boldly, learn deeply and step into a powerful future full of possibility.
State Rep. Monty Fritts of Kingston told the Lookout this week he considers the governor’s new program unconstitutional and would try to block expansion on those grounds.
The state Constitution says the General Assembly “shall provide for the maintenance, support and eligibility standards for a system of free public schools,” according to Fritts. It doesn’t mention private schools, but he interprets that as a “specific and restrictive statement” that doesn’t permit spending public money to send kids to private schools.
