• K-12 education spending will increase by $341.6 million.
• $120 million in teacher pay raises, roughly 4% more than previously allocated; $110 million in literacy initiatives;
• $70.5 million more to fully fund the state's Basic Education Plan formula;
• $24 million for a charter school facility fund.

In the State of the State the Governor has pledged to fully fund the BEP funding formula. The BEP needs much work both short-term and long-term. It is a challenge for the all. 

• We share the Governor’s belief that our citizens and students need better civics education.
• Investments in broadband will be helpful to students and educators across the state.
• We must improve both the college-going and college success rate of students, so we are excited about this program.
• We also applaud the renewed continued commitment to public education and STEM programs.
• We also support additional tutoring and technology for students in our urban areas.

The Governor has set aside an additional $120 million for teacher compensation in the 2021-22 budget. A salary increase, with recurring funds, is certainly welcomed and needed. We believe that Tennessee must outpace ALL states in salary and benefits to attract needed teachers moving forward to retain quality educators and so that others will choose education as a career path. We have much work left to do for benefits and compensation for our principals, teachers, custodians, bus drivers, and support staff.

One of the critical proposals is that Governor Lee has recommended: “$6.5 million in our mental health safety net which will be focused on providing services for school-aged children struggling with mental health issues.” Mental health is a major issue for children and adults, and a priority for our association. The problems brought on by the pandemic has created many stressors for kids and adults, and exacerbated the crisis, and exposed a weakness in the mental health safety net for children. Statewide K-5 school counselors, teachers, social workers, and others are seeing an increase in children's mental health issues. This is an opportunity to help existing school counselors, teachers, social workers, and others be more effective at addressing the needs of kids.

We are pleased Governor Lee is committed to making public education a priority. As we are aware in policy circles: “the governor proposes and the legislature disposes...” We look forward to advocating and adding input as education legislation makes its way through the Tennessee General Assembly.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NO CONFIDENCE FOR COMMISSIONER SCHWINN?  [View/Download PDF]

Radio host Brian Wilson (SuperTalk 99.7 WTN) broke the news that members of the Tennessee General Assembly could consider a “No Confidence” letter to Governor Lee in regards to Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn. Wilson said on his Friday, August 21, 2020, show, “the long knives are out.” That news is hardly a shock to legislative insiders or news media. Wilson reported that the Governor’s Office still supported Schwinn.

Penny Schwinn was a surprising choice to be chosen as Commissioner of Education for Tennessee. Tennessee had been hailed as one a handful of success stories across the nation that an incoming Governor could build upon. Schwinn had very little actual classroom teaching experience, about 2 years. She was the founder and principal of Capitol Collegiate Academy in Sacramento for 1 year in 2011 and remains on their board. Starting in 2012, she had stops in Sacramento City Unified Schools, Delaware Department of Education, and the Texas Education Agency (TEA). She had no previous connections to our state before her selection by Governor Bill Lee.

Schwinn’s departure from Texas came on the heels of a controversial no-bid contract awarded to a vendor, SPEDx, that utilized a subcontractor with whom she had a personal relationship. In Texas, state auditors found the agency  had failed to follow state policies before awarding the contract. The TEA, the agency which oversees education in Texas, was ordered to repay the federal government more than $2.5 million spent on this special education contract. State auditors found only about $150,000 worth of work was actually completed on the project. Investigators said officials failed to check SPEDx's security controls, potentially jeopardizing the data of thousands of special education students statewide. Laurie Kash, the whistleblower who reported this incident, was fired by the agency. Kash was later awarded more than $200,000 in damages.

Problems began to escalate for Schwinn here in Tennessee with the revelation of an unusually high turnover rate at the Tennessee Department of Education since her arrival. Chalkbeat reported in November 2019 that the agency had 250 departures. Chalkbeat added, “The departure rate of just over 19% exceeds those of Schwinn’s two predecessors over comparable periods.” We believe the 19% estimate is too low and should be updated. The actual figure today is probably closer to about 33% or 1/3 of the employees that have left since Schwinn was named Commissioner.

Legislators, especially those that champion limited government, are likely to question the number of chiefs or assistant commissioners at the Department of Education, which has increased from the 13 under Commissioner McQueen to roughly 23 chiefs or assistant commissioners under Commissioner Schwinn. Our estimate is that the average salary of these chiefs and assistants exceeds $135,000 yearly. There were several lower-salaried employee positions eliminated and many of those were not replaced. However, the savings were not realized by taxpayers, but merely shifted into higher salaries for other staff with new job titles. What Legislators should look at is simple: Has service to districts, parents, and educators improved under Schwinn or not? Ultimately, that is the question for lawmakers and the Governor to decide.

What has puzzled many lawmakers, parents, and educators is the fact that while schools are being pressured to open their doors, the Tennessee Department of Education has remained closed, and employees have been allowed to work virtually. One recent hire, identified as Sophie Mann, a resident of Chicago, is the new Director of Accountability for the state of Tennessee. In past administrations, employees who worked for the Tennessee Department of Education, as an employee, were required to be residents of the state in which they worked. Policymakers will certainly want to ascertain how many employees have been hired from outside the state of Tennessee, how many are allowed to work remotely, and how many employees reside outside the state.

Commissioner Schwinn, without prior consultation with stakeholders or policymakers, wanted changes to the Tennessee accountability model for students and teachers which resulted in a forced meeting with Senate and House Education leaders and the State Board at the capitol. She has seemingly abandoned that plan. In February, outraged Tennessee lawmakers grilled state education officials about the department’s decision to award a $2.5 million non-compete contract to Florida-based vendor ClassWallet. Next in 2020, her agency put forth a literacy bill that seemed to revert the state to Common Core state standards that the state had previously dumped. The proposed legislation appeared headed for certain defeat. Legislators, after seeking input from districts and stakeholders, created a better literacy bill that seemed much more likely to pass, with a more robust emphasis on phonics and Tennessee standards. The Governor indicated he would support that legislation. This also seemed to adversely strain the relationship between the Department of Education and the Tennessee General Assembly about whether the department had already begun conversations with potential vendors. When the COVID-19 crisis came along, it brought a reprieve for the embattled Commissioner, who was no longer being questioned about Tennessee’s handling of textbooks and contracts.

Our criticism of Commissioner Schwinn has focused specifically on her handling of the COVID-19 crisis: the latency in sending out the state’s reopening plan, failure by the state to provide PPE and cleaning supplies to schools and districts in a timely fashion, and the ill-conceived monthly child well-being inspections that would further increase educator workload and expand government. We strongly believe she should have opened the Department of Education before asking any school to reopen. Educators across the state have repeatedly asked “why public schools were pressured to open before the Department of Education was opened and who made that decision.” Districts, schools, and educators have borne the brunt of unjust criticism of the flawed re-opening efforts statewide. The state should have sent out guidelines in the months or weeks before some schools had already opened to better assist local efforts. The state should have put forth protocols for collecting and reporting COVID-19 data tracking that was transparent from the onset. It is important that our community is informed and knows the numbers of COVID-19 cases we faced to best meet any emerging health challenges. Educators and districts across the state are tired of toolkits and dashboards. They are looking for leadership. The House Education Committee will meet on September 22^nd and 23^rd. It is unclear if Commissioner Schwinn will be asked to appear before that committee. 

Should Commissioner Schwinn be given a no-confidence vote? That is not our decision to make, nor are we advocating it. We want her, or anyone in that office, to simply make Tennessee educators and students their only priority. And we will never apologize for speaking up for our educators and students.

Sources:

Nashville's Morning News with Brian Wilson (SuperTalk 99.7 WTN)

https://www.997wtn.com/nashvillesmorningnews/

What we can learn from the state of our nation’s education

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/what-we-can-learn-from-the-state-of-our-nations-education/2019/10/31/0e365c64-fbfa-11e9-8906-ab6b60de9124_story.html

Capitol Collegiate Academy

https://testcca.weebly.com/

State audit finds serious flaws in Texas Education Agency contracting process

https://www.texastribune.org/2018/09/05/state-audit-finds-serious-flaws-texas-education-agency-contracting-pro/

Feds tell TEA to repay more than $2.5 million spent on special education contract

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/amp/Feds-tell-TEA-to-repay-more-than-2-5-million-15421360.php

Feds order Texas Education Agency to pay fired special education director more than $200,000

https://www.texastribune.org/2019/11/22/tea-special-education-director-awarded-200000-after-being-fired/

Employee turnover, discontent high in Tennessee’s education department under Penny Schwinn

https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2019/11/15/21109223/employee-turnover-discontent-high-in-tennessee-s-education-department-under-penny-schwinn

TN Department of Education Staff Directory

https://www.tn.gov/education/about-tdoe/frequently-requested-contact-information/departmental-staff-directory.html

A renewed debate in Tennessee: Should schools be judged by how much students know, or how much they grow?

https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2019/9/10/21108819/a-renewed-debate-in-tennessee-should-schools-be-judged-by-how-much-students-know-or-how-much-they-gr

Tennessee lawmakers tell education chief to slow down on school accountability changes

https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2019/9/11/21108817/tennessee-lawmakers-tell-education-chief-to-slow-down-on-school-accountability-changes

Tennessee lawmakers demand answers over voucher program

https://apnews.com/63f17e389766f89f507b2656f1496bd6

Tennessee phases out Common Core

https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/education/2016/04/15/tennessee-phases-out-common-core/83085942/

Tennessee seeks to salvage literacy initiative during budget crisis — and use coronavirus relief money to pay for it

https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2020/5/29/21275061/tennessee-seeks-to-salvage-literacy-initiative-during-budget-crisis

Schwinn on the hot seat over handling of textbooks and contracts

https://dailymemphian.com/article/11574/schwinn-on-hot-seat-over-handling-of-textbooks

Governor's school reopening suggestions leave toughest decisions up the districts

https://fox17.com/news/local/governors-school-reopening-suggestions-leave-toughest-decisions-up-the-districts

Tennessee Officials Wanted To Make Monthly 'Well-Being' Inspections of Every Child in the State

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PROFESSIONAL EDUCATORS OF TENNESSEE COMMENTS ON NAEP RESULTS FOR 2019  [View/Download PDF]

Nashville, TN - The results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) - also known as the Nation’s Report Card - are out.  Tennessee, like most states, did not show a significant change in overall results in most tested areas of NAEP.  

“Like any other test, I am careful about reading too much into the results,” says JC Bowman, Executive Director of Professional Educators of Tennessee. “There are many factors that contribute to a high-quality public-school system: performance, funding, safety, class size, quality of educators, and community support to name a few. NAEP is just one snapshot” according to Bowman.

Some Key Findings:

• Tennessee saw scale score improvements across every grade and content on NAEP in 2019
• 4th grade math showed statistically significant growth from 2017.  
• Despite our large achievement gap for Black students, Tennessee serves these students better than most states.
• Tennessee’s most underperforming student groups are lower income (free/reduced lunch eligible) students, Hispanic students, and English language learners. 

Tennessee may want to compare outcomes to states with similar demographics, rather than just our border states, according to Tennessee Commissioner of Education Penny Schwinn. States she identified with similar population demographics are Indiana, Iowa, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Missouri and North Carolina.    
 
Bowman added: “Researchers will keep analyzing data, conducting state to state comparisons, and searching for trends. In the end, Tennessee did not see statistically significant changes and remained steady. We will continue to work with stakeholders and policymakers to make sure Tennessee has a supportive environment for public education, as well as the best schools in the nation.”   

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

2019 STATE OF THE STATE - EDUCATION  [View/Download PDF]

Governor Bill Lee gave his first state of the state speech on Monday, March 4, 2019, from our state Capitol in Nashville, Tennessee. A highly anticipated address, it focused heavily on education issues including career and technical education initiatives, increased funding for school safety programs, and expansion of various school choice initiatives.

Since the beginning of his campaign, one of Governor Lee’s biggest priorities has been workforce development through expanding and strengthening career and technical education programs. As expected, he spoke more in-depth about his proposed Governor's Investment in Vocational Education Initiative (GIVE) and how it fits into his administration’s proposed budget. Governor Lee sees this as an opportunity to help students develop the practical skills that help them perform in project-based environments, learn to work with others, and grow the discipline needed for success in a competitive workplace. It facilitates new partnerships between industry and our schools, and a more concrete connection between labor and education, which is a direction that the federal government has taken the past few years. The state will also expand and improve offerings in STEM, and CTE is a major priority. We applaud those investments in education.

TEACHER COMPENSATION

We are pleased that Governor Lee is fully funding the Basic Education Program and recommending $71 million for a well-deserved 2.5% pay raise for teachers. Compensation is the key to recruitment and retention of our educators. Our teacher compensation model needs to be competitive nationally. There is currently pending legislation from the administration that would require school districts to report to the department of education and the BEP review committee how they have implemented increased funding from the state for instructional wages and salaries, intended by legislators for teacher raises. This is a positive development. Governor Lee is sending a message to educators that he recognizes and appreciates their efforts and will work to see they are fairly compensated for their efforts.

TESTING
Policymakers and stakeholders have been waiting on a message from the governor about how he plans to improve our assessment system, to ensure that our metrics are empowering and informing, not inhibiting quality instruction, while providing accurate feedback for educators, parents, and students. The Governor talked about the frustration around the administration of the state test, and he has charged the Commissioner with the procurement process. Going forward, he stated that his focus will be on executing a testing regimen that is trustworthy, helpful, and on time. However, he did not address other adjustments to testing, like a pilot project that allowed some districts to use the ACT, ACT Aspire, or SAT Suites as a means of assessment or flexibility in high performing districts to use alternative evaluations.

SCHOOL SAFETY

School safety is also a high priority for the Governor. The proposed School Safety Grant program includes $40 million aimed at addressing the need for an SRO in every school. This includes an increase in current recurring expenditures and a one-time infusion of an additional $20 million. The program will prioritize the approximately 500 schools that do not currently have an SRO. While there is a local match requirement, schools may include the costs of current safety measures in that calculation. For schools who already have SROs, there will be an application process for them to request grant funds for other safety-related initiatives as outlined in the proposed legislation.

“School safety has been a high priority for Professional Educators of Tennessee,” according to the executive director of the organization JC Bowman. The organization conducted a statewide assessment on safety in 2018. Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Hammond and Bowman also conducted a well-publicized School Safety Town Hall in Hamilton County in 2018.

“One of the highest priorities we can have in American society is the safety and protection of children - and the men and women who teach them,” according to Bowman. He added, “we think this is a very positive step in keeping our schools safe and reducing school violence.”

Helping students with mental health issues is another important component of school safety – especially children who have experienced physical abuse, verbal abuse, sexual abuse, physical neglect, and emotional neglect. Professional Educators of Tennessee has advocated for an increase in school counselors, whose work with students in this area of concern is of equal concern as their work helping student prepare to be college and career ready. The TN Department of Education launched a Trauma-Informed Schools initiative last fall to designate schools that have undergone training on how to create a school environment that both helps students and empowers teachers in their daily interactions with students. The program trains adults in the school to recognize and respond to those who have been affected by traumatic stress and includes training on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). We must make every school a safer place for all of our children.

CHARTER SCHOOLS

If a charter school is effective, then facility dollars may be a good investment. However, if a charter school fails to deliver on its promise of a quality education then the investment is a waste. Public schools are likely to also want to secure facility funding. We look forward to this debate and likely discussion. The state will eventually need to address facility growth in rapidly growing communities.

ED SAVINGS ACCOUNTS

For the most part, school choice is already available to upper-class families through residential mobility. However, low-income and middle-income parents/guardians have been subjected to limited choices for their children. This proposal by the Governor on Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) will allow parents in the most under-performing school districts to use a portion of state education money in a way that fits with what they believe that their children need. ESAs will most certainly be the most problematic piece for the Governor to pass and enact. The Tennessee Education Savings Account will provide approximately $7,300 to eligible, participating students. Eligibility is limited to low-income students in districts with three or more schools ranked in the bottom 10% of schools. This currently includes Metro-Nashville Public Schools, Hamilton County, Knox County, Jackson-Madison County, Shelby County, and the Achievement School District.

“ESAs will likely pose capacity limitations for low socio-economic parents,” noted Executive Director JC Bowman. “By targeting districts that are lower performing, Governor Lee may be able to pass it through the Tennessee General Assembly. Nevertheless, ESAs do not guarantee improved school effectiveness or outcomes, better parental involvement, and certainly no increased systemic investments in public education. A positive to Lee’s ESA plan is that it will invest at least $25 million new dollars in public schools in the first year to fill the gap when a student transfers to another school. However, we have concerns regarding the implementation of the plan as presented, as well as future expansion.”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

STATEMENT ON NEWLY APPOINTED COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION PENNY SCHWINN

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

State Report Card Release Commentary  

The State Report Card is being released this morning. It has been designed by the Tennessee Department of Education for non-educators to read and understand. The focus is put on parents and community members. "This is version one and hopefully it will continue to evolve and become more user friendly," according to JC Bowman, Professional Educators of Tennessee.
 
This is the first time that the new Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) indicators are listed within this report card. "A school’s report card is much like a GPA. It’s more than a single score, so there are multiple things that go into that GPA" says Bowman. He added "The school report card is a snapshot of time; much like a school picture for a student, it is what you look like at that moment in time".
 
Bowman concludes: "The state report card may spark positive conversation in communities, which we feel like keeps public education at the forefront of policy discussions. If the results are less than positive it should also start a conversation about how [a school] can grow, change and improve. However, we must remember it was just a moment in time."

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

TNDOE Press Release

How Do the School Ratings Work?

State Report Card Site

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TIME TO SEPARATE PACS FROM LOBBYING [View/Download PDF]

How is it possible to separate organizations’ campaign contributions from their lobbying activities? It may not ever be possible. Political Action Committee (PAC) is a term for a political committee organized for the purpose of raising and spending money to elect and defeat candidates. Numerous groups that have a PAC do not have a lobbyist, and many groups that have a lobbyist do not have a PAC. Perhaps it should be an either/or option and get the political donations completely out of policy issues.

The prevailing opinion is that campaign contributions are integral to lobbying efforts and buying access to elected officials. Have we really sunk to that level in America? Nashville? Lobbying and contributing to political candidates should be completely unrelated activities. Perhaps the state comptroller should investigate the relationship between PAC donations to specific legislators and the amount of time their lobbyists spent with those legislators. It should reveal interesting findings. It should also be clear how much lobbying effort was directed at the legislative branch and how much was directed at the executive branch, and those political donations as well. This would be the only way to measure the extent to which contributions really affect the way that policymakers allocate their time, and whether money as a political resource magnifies and perpetuates political inequalities.

Even though it is an ugly secret, there is little doubt that some organizations obtain votes by making campaign contributions. Thus, lobbying strategies become dependent upon campaign donation strategies. What transpires in the meetings between legislators and interest groups with PACs can be a matter of inference and speculation. However, what is not supposition is that legislation favored by those who contribute political donations succeed on a regular basis. Many politicians also form PACs as a way of raising money to help fund other candidates' campaigns. A common occurrence is money gets funneled to Candidate A via Candidate B, by other special interests or PACS through this method. Follow the money.

In reality, groups that command non-monetary resources valued by policymakers —policy expertise, access to voters, and influence may be more important than a campaign check. As labor unions have seen their influence decline, they could likely discover it to the fact they are spending less on lobbying, and more on political giving. There are smaller victories, and they are having to write bigger checks to secure even those. It will only escalate and union dues will increase. The lesson here is obvious.

Clearly, we believe issue advocacy is good, and it is a First Amendment right to express an opinion to policymakers. We also have no problem with people making political contributions to the candidates of their choice. What we would like to see is a clearer separation between these two activities, with better monitoring. Are political campaigns on behalf of candidates engaging in illegally coordinated activities with PACS? Nobody can be certain. Should PACs be forced to immediately disclose their donors and campaign expenditures? Should people who have PACS be required to register to lobby? It is essential that citizens know who is financing policymakers’ elections.

Professional Educators of Tennessee will continue to lobby for public education. However, we will never endorse political parties or candidates as an organization on behalf of our members. We also do not have a PAC, nor do we plan to ever start one. It would harm our effectiveness. We must advance public education without the divisive tribalism of partisan politics, and we will only get involved in education related issues.

Students, teachers and districts will be held harmless for this year’s TNReady results after hard work by legislators in the Tennessee General Assembly today.  Test results this school year will only count if it benefits students, educators and districts.

“We are very pleased legislators ensured that employment or compensation decisions based on the data cannot be used” according to JC Bowman, Executive Director of Professional Educators of Tennessee.  He added: “I think everyone, despite their position on the testing wanted this to be a success.”   

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

#1 Teacher Concern is Workload [Download Report]

In the 2017 State of Tennessee Education Survey, teachers responded to questions on 20 topics regarding education. Teacher Workload was rated as the most critical, followed closely by Salary, Literacy, and Parental Engagement. Ten of the topics were ranked as “Critical” or “Very Critical” by at least 70% of respondents.

The results come from Professional Educators of Tennessee’s annual membership survey. Responding to this survey were 536 educators from over 81 districts. Educators were asked to rate the following issues as being Very Critical, Critical, Somewhat Critical, or Not Critical. They were also asked to rate how they felt their district or school addressed the same issues.

• Administrator Quality
• Benefits
• Hunger
• Instructional Time
• Lack of Respect
• Literacy
• Parental Engagement
• Planning Time
• Poverty
• Professional Learning
• Quality Resources
• Salary
• School Safety
• Standards
• Teacher Evaluation
• Teacher Quality
• Teacher Workload
• Technology (or lack thereof)
• Testing

According to the survey (in order), the top 10 most critical issues were: Teacher Workload, Salary, Literacy, Parental Engagement, Instructional Time, Planning Time, Lack of Respect, Benefits, School Safety, and Administrator Quality.

What is interesting to note on this survey is not just which issues educators thought were most critical but how they perceived their districts/schools as addressing these issues. Only 29% of educators rated their districts as being above average concerning their workload. Educators rated districts at 31% above average for addressing salary issues. Whereas Literacy and School Safety were also considered critical issues, educators rated their districts well regarding them.

In addition, educators were also surveyed regarding their out-of-pocket spending. Ninety-one percent indicated they spent more than $100 a year with 21% stating they spend more than $500 per year out-of-pocket. One educator stated they spent more than $1000 per year while another stated they spent more than $2000.

Also of significant note was which issues were not considered as critical by educators. Surprisingly, Testing and Teacher Evaluation were not in the top 10 most critical issues. Ranked 11-19 were Teacher Quality, Testing, Poverty, Quality Resources, Technology (or lack thereof), Hunger, Teacher Evaluation, Standards, and Professional Learning. In regard to Professional Learning, training provided outside of the district appears to be more specific to educator needs.

The survey also included the opportunity for respondents to leave general comments with an open-ended question. Two hundred fifty (250) educators left comments, and "test", "tests" or "testing" was mentioned 68 times. "[Teacher] evaluation" was mentioned 19 times. An issue that was not included in the specific topics that were surveyed, but that was mentioned in the open-ended question, was class size. Class size was a concern for several respondents, and we also feel it is a critical issue.

However, the number one issue is undoubtedly excessive educator/teacher workload. Stakeholders at all levels should make it a priority to work together in order to reduce excessive educator workload, at the same time providing salary increases that will actually go into the teachers’ paychecks and not just to the district coffers.

These results generally align with previous findings from past surveys. Additionally, we feel it is also imperative that the state should ensure that classrooms are adequately funded and work to reduce teacher out-of-pocket expenditures.

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Originally published in TREND magazine at www.trendtn.com 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PROFESSIONAL EDUCATORS OF TENNESSEE MEMBERS APPOINTED TO STATE STANDARDS RECOMMENDATION COMMITTEE [Download Article]

Nothing is more foundational for classroom instruction than strong a set of standards. Academic standards set forth our expectations for what students should know and be able to do at the end of any given grade or course. Our state’s continued progress and collective goal of ensuring that all of our students graduate postsecondary and workforce ready hinges upon the presence high quality, rigorous standards.

The state is currently in the midst of a standards review process in math and English language arts (ELA) that is unprecedented in terms of its transparency and educator engagement. Professional Educators of Tennessee’s own President, Cathy Kolb, is actively involved as a leader in this process. Cathy was recently appointed by Speaker Harwell to serve on the new Standards Recommendation Committee (SRC). A 10-member committee appointed by the Governor and speakers of the House and Senate, the SRC is responsible for making the ultimate recommendations for revised math and ELA standards to the State Board of Education (SBE). The SRC’s recommendations and the Board’s ultimate passage of revised standards in Spring 2016 will be the culmination of an 18-month process of intensive public engagement and thoughtful revision to the math and ELA standards.

The standards review process began in Fall 2014, when Governor Haslam announced the creation of a standards review website that would be open to the public to review and offer feedback on current K-12 standards. More than 130,000 reviews were received over the course of six months, and more than 70% of those reviews came from current K-12 teachers. ELA & Math Standards Review & Development Committees, each advised by 3 educator advisory teams, have met throughout the summer to review the public feedback and make initial revisions to the standards. Their work will be posted for another round of public feedback via the standards review website this October, providing another great opportunity for educator feedback. The Standards Recommendation Committee will use this additional feedback to finalize its recommendations to the State Board of Education. New standards will be approved in April 2016 and implemented in the 2017-18 school year.

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Professional Educators of Tennessee members appointed to this committee include President Cathy Kolb of Moore Magnet STEM Elementary in Clarksville and Tullahoma High School Assistant Principal Shannon Duncan. Their expertise and professionalism will surely be an important asset to this newly appointed team of educators.

Other appointees:

Read the full AP report here: http://m.apnews.com/ap/db_268748/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=0uDKIXRK

We look forward to working with Dr. McQueen on critical education issues facing Tennessee Educators. Dr. Candice McQueen is well versed in the hard work teachers’ face every day as she has taught in both private and public elementary and middle schools. She is familiar with Tennessee, one of our major concerns. “We have admired Dr. McQueen’s work from afar, and are looking forward to working with her more closely," said Executive Director J. C. Bowman. Priorities for a new commissioner must first be student-centered. Our students must have the resources and innovative instruction to compete in a world-class economy right here in Tennessee. We are reminded that the working conditions of our educators become the learning environment of our students, therefore teachers must also be a high priority in the new commissioner’s agenda. Finally, Tennessee will need to continue to allocate resources devoted to the transition of standards. As we have maintained, we believe it is time to move beyond the Common Core debate. We need to continuously build state specific standards that are challenging and meet the needs of Tennesseans. This needs to be done with legislative input and with the involvement of Tennessee educators. In this season of hope, we truly look forward to working with Dr. McQueen to move our state forward.  

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Governor Haslam has announced that Tennessee Commissioner of Education Kevin Huffman will be leaving his administration to return to the private sector. “We wish Commissioner Huffman the best in his future endeavors in the private sector” according to J. C. Bowman, Executive Director. He added, “More importantly we urge Governor Haslam to select a Commissioner of Education with public education experience from within Tennessee, as well as proven leadership skills in the public arena.”

September 4, 2014

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SCORE ONE FOR THE GOOD GUYS

I had heard it all before: we have finally got everybody in a room, and we are all working on a common mission to “fix public education.” That was more or less the idea behind the State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE). More precisely, they said the objective is to support Tennessee’s work to prepare students for college and the workforce. The key to that equation is defining exactly who Tennessee is. Is Tennessee the president? The governor? The federal government? Philanthropists? The Gates Foundation? The Tennessee General Assembly? The Commissioner? The Department of Education? Textbook Companies? The business community? Educators? Parents? Students? All the above? None of the above?

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JC Bowman is the Executive Director of Professional Educators of Tennessee, a non-partisan teacher association headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is hereby granted, provided that the author and the association are properly cited. For more information on this subject or any education issue please contact Professional Educators of Tennessee. To schedule an interview please contact Audrey Shores, Director of Communications, at 1-800-471-4867 ext.105.