Algebra in 8th Grade?

Should more schools make Algebra an option for 8th graders?

A writer tells the story of her own daughter’s math journey – and discusses the implications of middle and high school math choices.

With many colleges dropping standardized testing for applicants, transcripts featuring calculus — preferably Advanced Placement — have come to signify rigor to admissions officers. However, nearly 20% of American high school students have no access to calculus whatsoever. As a result, a scant 2% of science, technology, engineering and math majors who arrive at college needing to take precalculus manage to earn a STEM bachelor’s degree, while those who didn’t progress past algebra 2 in high school have a less than 40% chance of earning any four-year degree whatsoever.’

The point: Unless a student completes Algebra 1 in 8th grade, they won’t be on track to take calculus in high school. And, as the author notes, most kids in 8th grade have little or no idea what they’ll want to do in the future – not offering Algebra 1 to 8th graders limits options.

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A National School Voucher Scam

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Knox County School Board Rejects Voucher Push

Divided School Board votes against adding Lee’s voucher scam to legislative agenda

The Knox County School Board will not ask lawmakers to support Gov. Bill Lee’s school voucher push, despite an attempt by the Board’s GOP majority to adopt the issue.

The Knoxville News-Sentinel reports:

All Republicans except District 5 representative Lauren Morgan and District 9 representative Kristi Kristy voted Jan. 9 in favor of asking lawmakers to expand Tennessee’s private school voucher program. Kristy took a “pass” vote and Morgan voted “no.”

Morgan explained her “no” vote:

I don’t believe it’s in this board’s realm of duties to make vouchers a legislative priority as we don’t have control over what the legislator does. I think it’s our job here on this board to make Knox County Schools the best that they can possibly be and be the place where our students and our families want to get an education and choose to go to school.”

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Lawmakers Release Corporate Tax Loophole Report

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Meet the New Year, Same as the Old Year

But maybe 2025 will see Bill Lee realize his dream of full-scale school privatization?

Nashville education blogger TC Weber notes that 2025 is shaping up to look a lot like 2024 when it comes to education policy:

Unfortunately, in reading the tea leaves, when it comes to the education world, it appears to me, 2025 will provide much the same as 2024.

We’ll fight over vouchers, bemoan charter schools, while pretending that teacher shortages don’t exist.

I’m betting that conversation over funding for desperately needed updates to existing facilities will be shuffled to the back burner once again, and kids will continue to attend schools with pest problems, heating and cooling issues, and inadequate space for enrolled students.

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A Push to Expand Pre-K

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The End of Public Education

Raising tough questions about the end goal of school vouchers

The very first bill filed for the 2025 session of the Tennessee General Assembly is Gov. Bill Lee’s plan for universal school vouchers.

It’s been Lee’s goal since before he was elected to privatize Tennessee’s public schools.

So, what’s the goal of this wholesale transfer of public funds to private entities?

Carol Burris takes to The Progressive to offer a possible explanation:

The “school choice movement,” which Coulson’s documentary promoted, has always been a classic bait-and-switch swindle: Charter schools were the bait for vouchers, and vouchers the lure for public acceptance of market-based schooling. While narrow debates about accountability, taxpayer costs, and the public funding of religious schools raise important concerns, the gravest threat posed by the school choice movement is its ultimate objective: putting an end to public responsibility for education. 

Burris notes that incoming President Trump appears to be on-board with this agenda:

The America First Policy Institute, where Trump’s Secretary of Education nominee Linda McMahon serves as board chair, states in its recent policy agenda that “the authority for educating children rests with parents.” As public responsibility for schooling shifts to parents, educational subsidies will be gradually reduced until Friedman and Coulson’s dream of a fully for-profit marketplace that competes for students is achieved.

Gov. Bill Lee promoting school privatization

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Not A Damn Thing

That’s what’s changed under Bill Lee’s approach to education

When Gov. Bill Lee came into office in 2018, Tennessee school funding system was broken.

The state lagged behind our neighbors in terms of support for schools by all measures. Billions in unfunded infrastructure needs. Teachers paid well below their peers in Southeastern states. Total investment in students ranked in the bottom 5 in the nation.

Bill Lee’s solution to all of this was to propose a school voucher scheme.

While it passed by a single vote in the House, the fallout is still being felt – one House Speaker lost his job over it. Staffers were indicted. And it seems the saga is not over.

Heading into 2025, Lee is now (again) pushing an expansion of his voucher scheme.

The state is still near the bottom when it comes to education investment and support for teachers. Schools still have billions in unmet infrastructure needs.

What’s changed in the education landscape during Bill Lee’s time as Governor?

Not a damn thing.

Gov. Bill Lee promoting school privatization

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A School Without Teachers

Free School Meals for All Kids

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This One’s About AI

Schools without teachers are here

The schools of the future are here – in Arizona, at least.

That is, schools without teachers. Schools where students zone-in on a device for two hyper-focused hours and then play Dungeons and Dragons or use a rock climbing wall the rest of the day.

Adults are in the building – but for emotional support and supervision, not for teaching.

Unbound Academy, which also operates in Texas and Florida under the name Alpha Schools, claims that kids can learn twice as much using a two-hour learning plan that gets customized by an AI program instead of a traditional human teacher in front of a classroom.

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Bill Lees Track Record on School Funding is Just Plain Sad

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A Plan for Universal Pre-K in Tennessee

Sen. Charlane Oliver Fights for Affordable Childcare

Free Pre-K for All Kids?

It’s possible, but will Bill Lee and the GOP get behind it?

Nashville legislators Sen. Charlane Oliver and Rep. Aftyn Behn want every 4-year-old in Tennessee to have the option to attend a free Pre-K program.

The two have filed legislation to expand the state’s current Pre-K program so that all families can benefit.

“Working families are the backbone of Tennessee, but far too many struggle to afford high-quality preschool for their children,” said Rep. Behn. “This legislation cuts costs, gives families a raise, and ensures every child gets a strong start in life. The research is clear: when families have access to free pre-K, parents can work more, earn more, and build a more secure future for their children. It’s a win for families, businesses, and the state economy.”

Rep. Aftyn Behn of Nashville

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Oliver Pushes for Affordable Childcare

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Turmoil in Memphis

Director of Schools stays . . . for now

An effort to remove Memphis-Shelby County Director of Schools Marie Feagins failed last night.

Chalkbeat reports:

An effort to oust Memphis-Shelby County Schools Superintendent Marie Feagins was put on hold Tuesday night when a divided school board voted to push the debate to next month.

In a 5-4 vote, the board referred a resolution to oust Feagins over allegations of “professional misconduct” to a committee meeting in January.

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Bill Lee Continues to Fail TN Schools

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Aftyn Behn Takes on the Grocery Tax

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This One’s About School Funding

Bill Lee’s “new frontier” looks a lot like Tennessee’s old frontier of school funding failure

Remember how Gov. Lee pushed a new school funding formula – TISA – to replace the state’s highly equitable but woefully inadequate BEP?

Remember how Lee promised TISA would usher in a bold new era of investment in Tennessee’s public schools?

Well, as it turns out, Lee’s rhetoric failed to match the reality. Or, those who warned about TISA were right – the new formula still provides inadequate funding to Tennessee’s public schools.

While in 2018, Tennessee ranked 42nd in the nation in school funding effort, today we rank 47th. On overall funding level, there has been no change since 2018 – that is, we’re still at 43rd.

So much for that new frontier Gov. Lee promised. Seems like the same old frontier of inadequate funding combined with the newness of even LESS effort to actually fund schools.

All of this continued lack of investment in school happened while the state enjoyed multiple years with huge (multi-billion dollar) budget surpluses. Rather than invest those funds in schools, Lee and his legislative allies gave out $1.6 billion in corporate tax breaks and $500 million to the Tennessee Titans to build a new stadium.

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A Note on School Library Book Bans

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This One’s About Book Banning

Districts across Tennessee remove books from school libraries

Wilson County has a list of 425 books that are no longer allowed to appear in school libraries there. Rutherford and Williamson counties recently announced they are banning or restricting access to certain books. And Knox County banned 48 books.

There’s sure to be more as districts address the requirements of the “Age Appropriate Materials Act” passed by the General Assembly.

All this focus on book banning seems to be a solution in search of a problem.

TN is a state that ranks near the bottom in funding for and investment in schools. We have nearly $9 billion worth of unfunded school infrastructure projects. Our state’s teachers earn among the lowest salaries in the Southeast.

But, at least the books noted above won’t be available in school libraries anymore.

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