Marta W. Aldrich, Chalkbeat Tennessee
Teachers are ‘ready to fight,’ says new Tennessee coalition inspired by strikes in other states
Teacher members of the Tennessee Education Association meet Tuesday with Rep. Harold Love of Nashville during an advocacy day at the State Capitol in Nashville. TEA encourages members to use a day of their spring breaks to lobby lawmakers on issues important to teachers....
Education voucher plan by Tennessee’s governor generates more questions than answers
Gov. Bill Lee’s proposal to bring education vouchers to Tennessee is an ambitious plan — but short on details thus far.
The Republican governor announced his “parent choice” initiative on Monday before a legislative body that has consistently rejected vouchers in numerous forms. He promised...
Gov. Lee unveils ‘choice-friendly’ proposed budget including vouchers, charter school support
Proclaiming that “choice is good” when it comes to education, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee on Monday proposed creating a voucher program for students from low-income families and said he will support legislation to make it easier to open high-quality charter schools.
He also asked lawmakers...
Is Tennessee moving its weakest teachers to early, non-tested grades? New research says yes.
Tennessee’s education insiders have whispered for years that some elementary school principals were moving their least effective teachers to critical early grades, which are free of high-stakes tests. That’s despite clear evidence that those years are the most important for preparing students for a...
After campaigning for more vocational education, Lee unveils his proposal for Tennessee
Gov. Bill Lee on Tuesday announced his legislative initiative to expand access to vocational and technical training for Tennessee students.
Called GIVE for short, the Governor’s Investment in Vocational Education would support regional partnerships among schools, industry, and technical colleges to develop work-based learning and...
Nashville school board member and political operative apologizes for his part in Tennessee’s Race to the Top
As a key adviser to former Gov. Phil Bredesen, Will Pinkston was an insider in Tennessee’s aggressive campaign to overhaul public education policies and win a $500 million award under the federal Race to the Top competition in 2010.
Later as a school board member...
Tennessee schools chief Candice McQueen leaving for job at national education nonprofit
Tennessee’s education chief is leaving state government to lead a nonprofit organization focused on attracting, developing, and keeping high-quality educators.
Candice McQueen, 44, will become the CEO of National Institute for Excellence in Teaching in mid-January.
Gov. Bill Haslam, whose administration will end on Jan. 19,...
Tennessee students to test the test under reworked computer platform
About 45,000 high school students in a third of Tennessee districts will log on Tuesday for a 40-minute simulation to make sure the state's testing company has worked the bugs out of its online platform.
That platform, called Nextera, was rife with glitches last...
Tennessee’s largest teachers group endorses Dean for governor as Lee reportedly snubs invitation
The political action committee for Tennessee’s largest teachers organization on Tuesday endorsed Democrat Karl Dean for governor over his Republican opponent, Bill Lee.
The Tennessee Education Association PAC cited Dean’s record on school funding and his opposition to vouchers that use taxpayer money to...
Memphis moves from problem child to poster child on Tennessee’s new school improvement list
The city that has been the epicenter of Tennessee’s school improvement work since 2012 got encouraging news on Friday as fewer Memphis schools landed on the state’s newest list of troubled schools.
Only 45 public schools in Memphis were designated “priority schools,” compared to 57...