Just Who's Running the Show?
“you can’t tell a single thing about a person’s true character if you both want the same thing. That’s like a dog and a cat getting along because they both want to kill the mouse.”
― Taylor Jenkins Reid, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
My editor at The Tennessee Star ain't going like to hear this - due to me being so slow to file pitches of late - but there is a lot to talk about with Tennessee education policy.
Now we can get down in the weeds and start talking about the implications of each little item, but I will ask that you pull back the lens a bit and focus on the larger picture. I would challenge you to ply a litmus test to all these individual threads, and ask yourself, "Just who is crafting and driving education policy in Tennessee?"
I will argue that it's not Tennesseans.
For this exercise, we are going to suspend evaluations of quality and focus more on the source. I've never been an end-justifies-the-means kinda of fellow. Stuff that starts off corrupted, only becomes more corrupted with time - no matter how well-intentioned.
The involvement of several education non-profits in shaping Tennessee's Education policies over the years is well documented. Chiefs for Change, SCORE, ExcelinEd, Teach for America, TNTP, and to a lesser extent, The Education Trust have all driven initiatives over the past decade. The statewide Science of Reading literacy initiative, the calls for high-quality materials, Tennessee Investing in Student Achievement (TISA), and Education Savings Accounts, all have their roots in organizations outside of Tennessee.
Well-funded organizations that serve their own agenda.
Last summer, Ian Round, a reporter for the Daily Memphis wrote a piece documenting the off-the-book role Chiefs for Change played in the passage of TISA.
To sum it up, former Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn was a member of the Chiefs for Change. With that membership status comes certain perks. The scope of those perks is unknown because...well, we are not members and they are a private entity not beholden to transparency laws.
We do know that Chiefs contracted with a third-party vendor to create the website used to promote the passage of TISA. They did so without a contract or scope of work. They collected data on Tennesseans while arguably masquerading as an extension of the Tennessee state government. However, since they are not actually government entities, they are not subject to the same oversize nor transparency requirements as actual government entities.
In other words, they stand under the flag of Tennessee while operating outside of its parameters.
None of which is illegal, but it does beg the question of how it serves citizens.
I will further argue that this is how democracy dies. While we are out screaming about Donald Trump and Joe Biden, they are quietly going about their business undermining the interests of the average Tennessean, or even American, all under the assumption that they know best.
They are shaping policy, and crafting rules far from the sight of the average individual, who has no idea what's going on while they are busy screaming on Twitter. (And no, I am not going to start calling it "X". It's still fucking Twitter)
Let me give you a couple case-in-points.
New Commissioner Reynolds - well not her, she's in Texas watching High School football games - but her minions, are out traipsing the Tennessee countryside under the guise of gathering information about how Tennesseans want their schools to be graded. To the credit of Tennessee educators, every stop has a handful of erstwhile educators, who extend the benefit of the doubt to the Texas transplant by showing up and offering their insight.
[embed]
Here's the rub. Grades are due in November, and that's the extended date.
The law requiring the TDOE to release "A-F" grades on individual schools was created in 2016, with a due date of 2017.
While the formula for calculating has been created, the grades were never released. The same formula is used for our federal accountability requirements.
To their credit, EdTrust has put together a decent explanation of Tennessee's accountability formula.
Let's this straight, money is being spent to travel the state asking people how they feel schools should be evaluated when they've never seen results based on the already adopted formula.
That's like selling me a car in 2017. I pay for it thinking you'll deliver by next year. You don't deliver it for 7 years and then on the eve of delivery, you want me to come by the local dealership to talk about what I'd like the car to look like, or if I want a new car.
How about you just deliver the car, and then after I've driven it for a while, I'll decide if I want to invest more money in a different car or make changes to the one I bought.
As disturbing as that is, here's my main question, Who told Commissioner Reynolds we need a new car?
With the implementation of a new funding model, third-grade retention implementation, a floundering grow-your-own program, and a burgeoning Education Savings account program, all at full tilt boogie, who demanded her first order of business be "A-F" letter grade revision?
I am at a log of events with fellow parents, and not once has the subject of school ratings been broached. Not once has somebody said to me. "I think our school is pretty good, but I wish I had some grades to judge it on." Or even, "My kid is miserable at this school, but the TVAAS ratings are through the roof. So we are staying."
Trust me, 90% of parents already have an opinion of their kid's school. They formed it based on data they self-collected and deemed relevant.
This week, for the 357th year in a row, Gallup released a poll on school satisfaction that revealed:
Of parents of K-12 students, 76% consider themselves completely or somewhat satisfied with their oldest child’s education quality. But when it comes to the U.S. system as a whole, those parents are only 41% completely or somewhat satisfied (14% for completely).
So why do need a grading system if most participants are already satisfied?
Maybe we can find some clues if we look at the website for Commissioner Reynolds's former employer, ExcelinEd.
As big proponents of private school choice programs, they have a whole checklist for implementation. Included in that checklist is the following:
Media coverage often reports only on academic outcomes of school choice programs. Fortunately, there are hundreds of high-quality private school choice studies that look beyond that metric. Those studies also look at parent satisfaction, civic values and practices, racial/ethnic integration, fiscal effects and school safety. Tracking the multitude of outcomes from school choice programs showcases a commitment to transparency and helps keep policymakers informed of progress.
Hmmm... every one of the aforementioned non-profits is a proponent of school choice. So is it parents demanding these policies, or is it the agenda of outside interests?
At some point, someone is going to have to address that elephant in the room.
- - -
Over the last several years, Tennessee state lawmakers, at the supposed urging of constituents, have passed laws that regulate the teaching of race and sexual orientation. As stated recently by State Senator Janice Bowling (R-Tullahoma), the Tennessee General Assembly has determined that Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives are not welcome in the state.
“They create discrimination, not diversity, preference not equality of opportunity, and division, not mutual respect. These false flags, or any tenets thereof, are illegal in Tennessee public schools,” she said.
Embedded in the law is a ban on 14 concepts being taught, including that “an individual, by virtue of the individual’s race or sex, is inherently privileged, racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether consciously or subconsciously.”
The new laws have reportedly made teachers scared to teach in Tennessee. So much so that the Tennessee Education Association (TEA) filed legal papers to overturn the law. Per the Associated Press:
“The ban poses an imminent threat to teachers in public K-12 classrooms in Tennessee,” the lawsuit states, adding that teachers face potential termination, license revocation and “reputational damage for teaching lessons they have taught for years.”
Pretty serious stuff.
This week Commissioner Reynolds announces her first official hire, former Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) educator, Brin Elliot. Elliot, a member of Chiefs for Change, has spent the last few years in Washington DC serving as the executive equity officer and will now oversee the state's lowest-performing schools as Tennessee’s new State Turnaround Superintendent.
In her role with DCPS, Elliott oversaw the district’s push to become a “whole-child, anti-racist school district.” Toward that goal, her Office of School Improvement and Support released a recommended Reading and Resource list. Included are books like:
Anti-Racism Resources for White People – By people across the U.S.
How to be an Anti-Racist – Dr. Ibram X. Kendi
Steps Latinos Can Take to Combat Anti-Blackness – Andrew. S. Vargas
Guide to Allyship – Amélie Lamont
All sure to get Tennessee's teachers in hot water if found in the classroom.
Elliot has won a ton of awards. But for her equity work, not her academic achievement work. Arguably that's what is needed by turnaround schools.
Her most recent award is the Dr. Effie Jones Humanitarian Award. In a short interview on YouTube, Elliot accepts the award and provides insight into her views.
[embed]
I'm not taking exception to anything she supports. Some I agree with, some I don't. But I am confused about why state legislators pass a law against the teaching of "divisive concepts" only to have the state department of education turn around and hire a leading proponent of the teaching of "divisive concepts".
Teachers are reportedly terrified of running afoul of the law, yet the TDOE puts them in harm's way by hiring someone whose past practices could put them in violation of the law.
Something is not jibbing.
Either the "divisive concepts' law is not the will of the people and was fostered on the state by outside entities.
Or the Commission of Education views herself as not being accountable to the General Assembly and by de facto the people of Tennessee.
Or both.
When asked about the propriety of the Elliot hire, State Representative John Ragan (R-Oak Ridge), who sits on several House Education Committees, replied, "I must defer comment on Ms. Elliot because I have neither met nor spoken to, her. Furthermore, unlike some, I do not make judgments on the basis of social media and YouTube entries."
Gotta respect that.
Ragan did add, "Regardless of who occupies seats in the Executive Branch, these individuals are expected to honor their oath of office which requires them to support and defend our federal and state constitutions. The Tennessee State Constitution vests power to create law in the General Assembly, not an executive official."
"Moreover, Executive Branch officials are sworn to faithfully execute the laws passed by the General Assembly. Consequently, Ms. Elliot, just like all other state employees, is expected to follow, both, the letter, and the spirit, of the law." Ragan said, "As a result, I have every expectation that she will do so. Any judgments of her performance I may have will come after I have had the opportunity to observe such."
- - -
Want to have some fun? Take a look at the website for Tennessee's Education Saving Account program.
First of all, you'll notice that the TDOE and their contracted partner, Students First Technologies have still not delivered an electronic platform for families to apply to participate in the ESA program. Theirs has been a troubled relationship.
If you want to play in the ESA pool, you have to mail your application in and then they'll call you on your home phone line or telegraph your acceptance.
Ok...I made the last part up, but really, mail it in in 2023?!? Lord.
The website does offer this hope, "The department is currently contracting for a secure, online system for the ESA program. In the future, families will use the online system for application and for approved educational expenses.
Shhh...don't tell them the contract (Contract_TN_Electronic_App_Wallet_Executed_Redacted) has August and September 1st as delivery dates. But what's a few missed deadlines between friends?
The real fun begins when you take a look at the list of schools approved to participate in the ESA program for 2023 - 2024.
Without spoiling anything, get yourself a bottle of your favorite spirit, and every time you read a religiously affiliated school, take a drink. I promise you won't make it halfway through the list before you are in the bag. Now if you reverse the criteria and only take a drink when you see a non-religious school, you'll be safe to drive.
Hmmm..I wonder how many Tennesseans are cool with subsidizing the state's religious educational institutions, which already get tax breaks.
- - -
Tennessee's new school funding formula (TISA) provides a provision for a direct allocation of Career and Technical (CTE) education funding. A fancy way of saying VoTech, for those of us old enough to remember.
As such, it is subject to the state board of education's rule-making process. On September 21, there'll be a hearing.
There's a lot of technical jargon in these proposed rules, and I'm not going to pretend to fully comprehend them at this juncture. However, to this untrained eye, it appears that we are tying funding levels to some specific criteria:
Career and Technical Programs shall be designated into one (1) of three (3) levels. Programs will be classified into the three (3) levels based on alignment to Wage-Earning Potential indicators and additional resources required to support the program if aligned to Wage-Earning Potential occupational pathways.
The proposed rules call for:
Programs will be scored using information on aligned SOC codes to establish the Wage-Earning Potential for each program by analyzing high-wage, high-demand, and high-skill data points. Each of the analyses detailed below will begin with the list of up to ten (10) SOC codes identified within each program as detailed above.
In addition:
Using employment projection data provided by the TDLWD, the Department will identify the top five (5) in-demand SOC codes within each program based on regional prevalence of demand and volume of demand. If a program has fewer than five (5) aligned SOC codes, then the available SOC codes will be used for the purposes of this determination.
I may be wrong, but this sure feels like an attempt to manipulate the market. Which, again, being in a state with a conservative super-majority, seems to run afoul of core conservative principles.
But what do I know?
- - -
This weekend marks the second annual MNPS Festival of Schools. Because everybody loves to give up a weekend to parade around Titan's stadium.
The September 9th Celebration of Schools Parade and Fair at Nissan Stadium is designed to showcase district schools and educational options to parents. But not every option. Once again, MNPS leadership has opted to exclude public charter schools from taking part. I guess the thinking is, if you don't tell them about it they won't know any better.
It wasn't always like this, but these are different times. The district giveth, and the district taketh.
“The Celebration of Schools Parade and Fair is the vision of Dr. Adrienne Battle to showcase and celebrate the unique qualities and traits of our schools who are operated by the district and follow the traditional public school governance model. It is not unusual for the district to hold events that only include our district-run schools, which operate under the leadership structure of MNPS, and this is the same format as last year,” said an MNPS spokesperson.
Funny thing, we always hear about equity, but only when it suits the speaker. An analysis by the Nashville Charter Collaborative last year found that 80 percent of public charter school students are students of color compared to 69 percent of the MNPS district overall. Charters also average 4 percent more economically disadvantaged students than the district.
The ironic part is I'll bet 90 percent of them come from families who vote Democrat.
- - -
Time to rattle the cup a little bit before I head out the door.
If you could help a brother out…and you think this blog has value, your support would be greatly appreciated.
To those who’ve thrown some coins in the basket, I am eternally grateful for your generosity. It allows me to keep doing what I do and without you, I would have been forced to quit long ago. It is truly appreciated and keeps the bill collectors semi-happy. Now more than ever your continued support is vital.
If you are interested, I’m sharing posts via email through Substack. This has proven to be an effective way to increase coverage. Readers have the option of either free or paid subscriptions. Paid subscriptions will potentially receive additional materials as they become available. Your support would be greatly appreciated.
If you wish to join the rank of donors but are not interested in Substack, you can still head over to Patreon and help a brother out. Or you can hit up my Venmo account which is Thomas-Weber-10. I don’t need much – even $5 would help – but if you think what I do has value, a little help is always greatly appreciated. Not begging, just saying, Christmas is right around the corner.
If you’d like less opinion and more news, check out my writing for The Tennessee Star. It’s a bit drier but equally informative.