East Nashville-based Episcopal School of Nashville will celebrate its 10th anniversary with a Fall Festival:
The celebratory, community-wide Fall Festival will be held on September 21 from 12PM-4PM at the school’s campus located at 1310 Ordway Place in Nashville.
The free event will feature games, local food trucks, face painting, giveaways, a bounce house, and more.
The scandal that is Arizona’s school voucher scheme keeps getting worse.
It’s not enough that an investigation revealed families using voucher funds to pay for vacations. Now, there’s evidence the voucher money was spent on diamond rings, necklaces, and iPhones.
12 News’ Craig Harris requested reports of all of the reimbursements being approved by Supt. Horne’s ADE, and the laundry list of fraud, waste, and abuse is shocking. The investigation found that private school parents using ESA vouchers for their kids “bought diamond rings and necklaces, Kenmore appliances, and even lingerie with education tax dollars… more than 200 Apple iPhones
MORE EDUCATION NEWS
Yes, there’s a federal school voucher scheme.
Yes, it’s a tax giveaway to the rich.
Yes, it also means private school coupons for wealthy families.
States will have to opt in so residents can access the federal coupons.
While there are between 7-10 states unlikely to opt in, Tennessee joins the majority of states likely to participate. Of course, the Volunteer State already has its own private school coupon plan – one that will cost state taxpayers more than $140 million this year alone.
A court case out of Arizona strikes a familiar theme: Republican-run legislatures tend to shortchange public schools.
After a 14-day trial in late June and early July, Judge Fox concluded that the state shorted public schools at least $2.2 billion for maintenance and construction costs between 1998 and 2013 — and likely billions more in the years since, after policymakers scrapped a formula for building repairs in favor of far less funding for competitive grants.
Arizona also ranks 49th in the nation in per pupil funding.
As Tennessee embarks on a school voucher misadventure, it is important to look at other states with universal voucher schemes to see how they are (not) working.
Today, we turn to Arizona. There, voucher recipients are using tax dollars to fund family vacations – Disney, Sea World, etc. – there’s even a Facebook group where users discuss how to game the system to finance vacations.
As 12News points out, most tickets to San Diego attractions or others outside of Arizona are likely to get approved regardless of cost — at least up to $2,000. Why? Supt. Tom Horne’s ADE implemented a new policy in December that all expenses less than $2,000 are approved automatically, without any review, with the plan to audit later.
Will Tennessee taxpayers end up on the hook for trips to Dollywood or Panama City Beach?
President Trump’s proposed FY 2026 budget includes a range of cuts to education, including $131 million to funds that go to Tennessee school districts. That’s the equivalent of nearly 3000 teachers.
The question is will Sen. Marsha Blackburn and Rep. John Rose, both of whom want to become Tennessee’s governor, actually stand up and fight for the state they hope to lead?
The answer is likely no.
While Gov. Bill Lee was content to let Tennessee schools lose out on $118 million in federal funding, leaders in other states – including Kentucky’s Gov. Andy Beshear – took on the Trump Administration and secured release of billions in education dollars.
The Washington Post reports:
The Trump administration plans to release more than $5 billion in funding to public schools that it has withheld for nearly a month, a senior administration official said Friday, ending weeks of anxiety and uncertainty for school leaders who had said the freeze jeopardized programs and staffing for the upcoming academic year.
The Nashville Public Education Foundation (NPEF) has a new leader.
From an email:
We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Diarese George to our team! After an extensive national search, Dr. George has been selected as NPEF’s new President and CEO and will be starting in his role on August 4. He is currently the founder and executive director of the Tennessee Educators of Color Alliance (TECA) and previously served in a variety of roles serving the education ecosystem in Nashville and Tennessee, including as the director of recruitment for the Nashville Teacher Residency and as a high school teacher in the Clarksville/Montgomery County school district. We are looking forward to how his expertise and collaborative spirit will help NPEF advance outcomes for Nashville’s students. You can learn more about Dr. Diarese George in our official announcement here.
Marie Feagins wants a judge to order the Memphis-Shelby County School Board to reinstall her as Director of Schools.
Former Memphis-Shelby County Schools Superintendent Marie Feagins is now suing a board member for personal defamation in an ongoing lawsuit over her January firing after less than 10 months on the job.
Feagins testified on Tuesday in Shelby County Circuit Court, where Judge Robert Childers considered Feagins’ request for a preliminary injunction, which would overturn the board vote to terminate her contract and reinstate her as district leader as the lawsuit plays out.
“I came here to do a job, and we have unfinished business,” Feagins said on the stand. “I didn’t come to sue the school district.”
The expectation that work matters most is on full display in a new policy at Lawrence County Schools.
WSMV reports on a strict, new attendance policy:
Under the Lawrence County School System’s new attendance policy, doctor’s notes will no longer excuse an absence. Students will now just be marked absent or present.
“If you have the sniffles, that is fine,” Adkins said during the meeting. “You are going to have them when you go to work one day. We have all gone to work sick and hurt and beat up.”
The district sent a letter last week to local medical providers asking them to “emphasize the importance of regular school attendance while treating school-aged patients.” The letter went on to say that “medical notes excusing students for two or more days can unintentionally imply the students should remain home even after their health improves.”
