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Concerning Numbers

Education blogger TC Weber looks at the stagnant graduation rate in Metro Nashville Schools – and a concerning decline:

A recent TDOE report shows MNPS recording its second-highest graduation rate ever. Several historically disadvantaged groups—economically disadvantaged students, Black students, and students with disabilities—posted their highest rates on record.

Sounds impressive.

Until you look at the details.

The district’s overall graduation rate: 83%.

Hispanic students? Their rate dropped 6.1 percentage points in the 2024–25 school year, landing at 73.2%.

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But Is Every Child Valued?

Nashville education blogger TC Weber offers a critique of MNPS’s “Every Child Known” slogan in light of the district’s policies and actions.

“Every child known” may actually be more accurate than “every child valued.”

That shift in wording—just one verb—changes everything.

Because when a district knows a child is in danger, knows their history, knows their struggles, knows the warning signs… and still fails them, what does that tell us about the hierarchy of value? What does that tell families? What does it tell students?

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A Warning for Tennessee from Arizona

On the Nonprofit Seeking Full Privatization of TN Schools

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Reinstated

A Williamson County teacher has been reinstated following a suspension as a result of a social media post deemed insensitive in the wake of the assassination of Charlie Kirk.

Chalkbeat reports:

A Williamson County Schools teacher who was suspended over a private social media post in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination has been reinstated to her job, though a federal lawsuit over the district’s actions is still ongoing.

The reinstatement was revealed in a federal court filing after Emily Orbison, a Franklin High School teacher, sued the Tennessee school district last month over her suspension and a subsequent “no contact” ban from district schools property that blocked her from accessing her own daughter’s school and teacher.

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Trump Keeps America Hungry

Cashing-In on Arizona’s Voucher Scheme

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Schools (Not) Out for Summer

State Department of Education plans to send millions to local district to support summer learning programs, Chalkbeat reports:

The Tennessee Department of Education wants a $30 million increase in summer learning funding next year, though education officials say schools need more flexibility to use the money throughout the school year for required tutoring rather than just summer learning camps.

Tennessee summer learning camps this year enrolled nearly 90,000 students, 25% of whom were rising fourth graders. School-based summer learning camps are one of several “promotion pathways” rising fourth graders can use to move on from third grade if they don’t hit the benchmarks required by the state’s third grade reading law.

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Trump Pardons Voucher Schemer

Former House Speaker and convicted felon Glen Casada was instrumental in passing Gov. Bill Lee’s initial, limited school voucher scheme.

Then, he got in some legal trouble. Now, he’s been pardoned by President Trump.

Speaking of questionable leadership, word out of D.C. this week is that former Tennessee House Speaker Glen Casada and his chief aide Cade Cothren will receive presidential pardons from Donald Trump.

The pair were convicted on more than a dozen public corruption charges tied to a scheme where they, along with former Rep. Robin Smith (R-Hixson), defrauded taxpayers through a state-funded legislative mailer program. They were just weeks away from prison.

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Vouchers vs. Schools: Arizona Edition

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Sexton’s Scheme

TC Weber of Nashville reports on House Speaker Cameron Sexton’s latest terrible idea: lowering the bar for entry into the teaching profession.

Sexton recently floated a proposal that would allow Tennesseans to start teaching with nothing more than an associate’s degree—the idea being to fill teacher vacancies. The pathway would then allow them to earn a bachelor’s and eventually a master’s to become administrators. Because of course, even in this setup, the goal seems to be getting more administrators, not more teachers.

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Florida’s Voucher Mess

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Troubling Numbers

A Nashville education blogger raises the alarm over the MNPS graduation rate:

This week, the Tennessee Department of Education released graduation rates for public schools. The statewide number was a record-breaking 92.3%, up from 92.1% the previous year. A total of 69,124 students graduated, nearly 1,900 more than the year before.

Those numbers sound great—unless you live in Nashville.

For schools under the MNPS banner, the results were, to put it mildly, atrocious. The district’s graduation rate came in at 83.6%—a full percentage point behind Memphis.

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Group Connected to Gov. Lee Helps Push Full Privatization of Schools

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Relationships, Data, and MNPS

Nashville education blogger TC Weber takes a look at “Every Child Known.”

 Relationships drive effort and loyalty. But relationships can’t be graphed on a data dashboard or condensed into a performance metric, and that’s where the system breaks down.

The modern education machine loves data points—graduation rates, proficiency scores, chronic absenteeism percentages. What it doesn’t love are messy, unquantifiable things like trust, rapport, and empathy.

It also loves micromanagement, often as much as it loves its spreadsheets.

This year MNPS doubled down on its scripted lesson plans, demanding that every class at every grade level in every school be on the same page, every single day. Besides flying in the face of nearly every best practice ever written, it strips teachers of the flexibility—and time—needed to form authentic connections with their students.

The best teachers have always known the importance of relationships. They’ve built them instinctively, often despite the system rather than because of it.

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An End to Public Education in Tennessee

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Nashville Teachers: Teacherpreneur Apps Close Nov. 12

The Nashville Public Education Foundation’s (NPEF) Teacherpreneur applications close soon – from an email:

Teacherpreneur is a professional learning experience for Nashville public school educators designed to harness teacher expertise and innovation. Teacherpreneurs participate in 5 sessions over January and February to build out ideas that help advance positive outcomes for students. 

Teacherpreneurs will identify an issue they want to address, research root causes of the issue, learn about change management theory, and use design thinking strategies to create solutions that help students thrive. In March, Teacherpreneurs will pitch their ideas for a chance to win cash prizes and seed funding to pilot their idea.

Application information

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An Effort to Fully Privatization Tennessee Schools

Voucher Double Dipping in Florida

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Dark Money, Dark Goals

A new issue advocacy group has a singular mission: Ending public education in Tennessee

A group connected to some of Tennessee’s top Republican elected leaders says it wants 200,000 Tennessee students using private school coupons and 250,000 in charter schools by 2031.

Tennessee Leads appears to have been launched with the help of a group of political finance consultants tied to top GOP leaders in the state.

The address and Registered Agent of the group match that of Political Financial Management, a group that has helped the Tennessee Republican Caucus and Gov. Bill Lee.

The group says it is advocating to have 200,000 students using school vouchers and 250,000 students in charter schools by 2031.

The voucher plan would cost $1.5 billion.

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