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Educators’ Cooperative Celebrates Summer

In their recent newsletter, Educators’ Cooperative hyped up their summer:

At EdCo, we’ve been reflecting on the end of this school year and celebrating the huge impact we were able to make due to our new Program Coordinator, Virginia Henry.

Thanks to her expertise and work ethic, our “EdCo in the Classroom” Programs were able to triple the delivery of in-class support to schools all over Nashville from Q3-Q4!

Looking forward, EdCo is excitedly preparing for our 11th Annual Summer Workshop.

We’ve been reviewing teacher-applications and selecting candidates for EdCo’s 11th Cohort. Summer Workshop is where they’ll come together for the first time as a class of our newest Members and learn how to use (and contribute to) EdCo’s mutual aid network.

We can’t wait to graduate them as official Members of our Educators’ Cooperative!

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Kentucky Teachers Face Low Pay, Shrinking Pensions

A Legacy of Kids Left Behind

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Bill Lee vs. Sun Bucks

One more story on Gov. Bill Lee letting TN kids go hungry:

For the first time in five years, the majority of low-income students across Tennessee will not receive supplemental grocery funds this summer to help bridge the months when they aren’t receiving school meals.

This is because Lee rejected federal support of Summer EBT – and instead, created a new, TN-funded program. The new program will serve only 25,000 kids in just 15 counties – down from the 700,000 kids served in all 95 counties since 2020.

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How Vouchers Eat State Budgets

Winning the Race to the Bottom

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Voucher Wisdom from Utah

The decision by a Utah judge that a school voucher scheme violates that state’s constitution is a win for defenders of public education.

“This decision protects the integrity of public education, ensuring critical funding remains in schools that serve 90% of Utah’s children and prioritize equitable, inclusive opportunities for every student to succeed,” said the Utah Education Association. “It reinforces the belief that public education is a cornerstone of opportunity for everyone, regardless of their background or circumstances.”

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The Federal School Voucher Scheme

Hungry Kids, Underfunded Schools

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Slater Promotes Voucher Coupon Scheme

Sumner lawmaker touts plan that would undermine the Sumner County Schools in his district

State Rep. William Slater who represents Trousdale County and part of Sumner County in the General Assembly, is actively promoting a school voucher scheme that could have devastating consequences for the public schools in his area.

Slater voted for the scheme – as did all of the representatives of Sumner County’s legislative delegation.

Now, the former headmaster of Hendersonville Christian Academy is actively seeking applicants to take public money to enrich private schools and their operators. The plan would also essentially provide a discount coupon to families already sending students to private schools.

State Rep. William Slater, R-Gallatin, is encouraging interested families in Trousdale and Sumner counties to apply for Education Freedom Scholarships (EFS) beginning May 15.

All Tennessee students can apply for the program, which provides a $7,295 scholarship to attend a private school that will best fit a child’s needs. Families are encouraged to apply early and have all necessary documents and information readily available.

In other states, vouchers have wrecked state and local budgets, resulted in property tax increases, and failed to improve student achievement.

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Robbing Farmers, Schools, and Food Banks

Bill Lee Never Fails to Disappoint

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An Explosive Voucher Scheme

State budget set to take a hit from rapid private school coupon scam

This blog takes a look at the numbers when it comes to Tennessee’s expanded school voucher scheme – set to go universal in the upcoming academic year.

Applications continue to flow in for Tennessee’s Education Freedom Scholarship program. The TDOE has released data showing that the number of scholarships applied for by families with a qualified income was equal to those for by parents with no economic restrictions.

As of the beginning of this week, the department has received a total of 38,160 applications:

  • 18,852 applications for qualified income scholarships.
  • 19,308 applications for universal scholarships.
  • Applications have been received from more than 300 zip codes across the state.
  • An average of 2,935 applications per grade level have been submitted for students entering Kindergarten through 12th grade.

Critics of the program continue to fire away even as applications increase. According to Sam Stockard at the Tennessee Lookout, the program is slated to cost about $400 million next year and escalate to $1.1 billion in five years. Democratic Rep. John Ray Clemmons says, calling Gov. Lee’s program “a scam that will harm students, de-fund public education, and expedite our state’s impending budget crisis.”

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TN “Wins” Race to the Bottom on School Funding

Vouchers Kill Local Public Schools

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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