Time to Get Back to Making the Donuts
“It's that wounded-poet crap, that soul-pain shit, that too-much-of-a-tortured-genius-to-wash bollocks. Brush your teeth, you little bastard. You're not fucking Byron.”
― Robert Galbraith, The Cuckoo's Calling
That's a wrap. Just like that the 2023 holiday season is over, and it's time to get back to making the donuts.
I'm not going to lie, the thought of picking up the proverbial pen and paper to start writing again after the holidays, has been the source of no shortage of anxiety. Truth is, a root canal is almost more attractive a proposition than writing about education policy in today's culture.
A culture that favors division over solutions. Where nobody is willing to concede or consider. One where it is easier to construct a straw man, and the subject matter seldom changes.
Warren Zevon once sang of Lawyers, Guns, and Money - seems semi-apropos. Maybe that should become the Tennessee state song.
Next week Tennessee's 113th General Assembly will gavel back into session, and for the next 3 months, the two sides will spend most of their time screaming at each other. Remember, it is possible to yell without raising your voice. There will be plenty of that as well.
Everyone will be offended, tone-death, sexist, racist, socialist, and out of touch with the people of Tennessee. Vouchers and guns will likely be the two subjects that suck the air out of the entire session.
Will bills pass addressing either issue? The odds change daily.
This morning, I read a Twitter exchange where a party on the Right criticized a wealthy state lawmaker who, despite her kids never setting foot in a public school, has suddenly become the champion for public schools. A supporter on the other side defended the legislator by saying, "So long as the state senator pays their taxes for public schools and isn't trying to trick taxpayers in Tennessee into covering over $7000 a year for her kid's private school tuition (money that would be siphoned away from our public schools), why should anyone care where she sends her kid to school?"
Let me get this argument straight. As a wealthy person, you have the right to send your child to the best schools while passing laws that prevent me, as a parent, from receiving any aid to do the same for my child. Forgive me, but that feels like the very definition of fostering inequity.
On the other side, you have a Governor who created a vehicle to make vouchers available to students statewide, yet refuses to use it because he's afraid that Tennesseans will perceive his efforts to change the state funding formula as merely a means to expand school choice. It's like choosing to use a screwdriver instead of a drill because you do things old school. It's rather dumb.
Tennessee's school funding formula, Tennesseans Investing in Student Achievement(TISA), gives us an idea of what it costs to educate every student. So if we know, why not run any voucher program through TISA?
Issue students an individual identifying number, and then have schools apply to participate.
Schools turn in their rosters with student identifying numbers, and schools receive funding based on the state portion of calculated per-student funding. Locals can decide if they want to include their portion or keep it with the traditional school district.
All school that participates in the public program, must adhere to the same accountability measures.
I get that some private schools may not want to participate due to the accountability requirements but that's ok. Nobody is forcing them to become part of the state's public education system.
On the flip side, this may lead to the relaxing of some accountability requirements public schools face. Other states have already looked at reducing testing, would that be a bad thing for Tennessee to consider?
I realize I'm providing an oversimplified explanation, but even a more detailed explanation would be a whole lot simpler and cleaner than what Lee is proposing.
Lee's plan would require additional funding for oversight, as money would go to parents before ending up at schools, and create a separate pool that would require ever-increasing annual funding.
That means going forth when legislators face decisions about funding public education, lawmakers would have to decide how much to put in TISA, how much in Education Freedom Scholarships, Teacher salaries, CTE, Tutoring, and whatever else gets thrown into the ever-expanding bucket. It pits folks with a common goal against each other in pursuit of needed resources.
In Indiana, which has implemented a new choice program recently, enrollment in private schools has grown by about 4600 students. Since 2020, private school enrollment has increased by roughly 5% a year.
According to Chalkbeat, "The state education department approved over 69,000 Choice Scholarship applications during the first round of the program this year. That’s an increase of about 16,000, or 30%, from the over 53,000 applications it approved for the previous year."
Those numbers lead to speculation that many of the state's vouchers are going to students already enrolled in private schools. If that's true, then the fiscal impact is less than it would be if it went to all new students. The unknown here is the financial status of all those families who applied for and accepted the proffered vouchers.
Those vouchers may be going to families where parents are currently working two or three jobs to pay for private school. Imagine the improvement in quality of life if they could reduce the workload to one job. Why would that be a bad thing?
It's not implausible that by alleviating some of the stress caused by the pursuit of tuition, you increase family time, which in turn leads to a reduction in health issues and improves overall quality of life. I know many of you will scoff at such a proposition, but talk to some parents who have actually struggled through the sacrifice. It's real.
Many of you may blanch at the idea of giving rich people public money, or anything for that matter, but last I checked, public money is supposed to serve the public. Wealthy people are part of the public.
A wealthy child with no learning challenges would only receive the minimum. About half of what's being proposed by the Governor.
I have no problem giving $4k to a wealthy family for their children's education if the same program successfully gives more opportunities to less wealthy students, and possibly improves their quality of life.
We all think that we can foresee the future and that actions only have one outcome. If that were true we'd be basking in success on the heels of Race to The Top. Few foresaw that many of today's issues - TFA, Charter Schools, teacher turnover, increased private sector involvement -would spring from a program with such grand and well-meaning intentions. Yet here we are.
I had a discussion earlier today with a dear friend. He put forth the argument that if a voucher bill passes, public education will be damaged past the point of return.
That's a little hyperbolic.
Do we really believe that a system that has survived over a century of challenges is that fragile?
Do we really believe that the system we know will remain unchanged even as everything around it changes?
Do we truly believe that our current system has evolved to the point of perfection?
Expanded school choice is coming. To think that the next generation will experience public school in the same manner as previous generations is a fool's parade. Society has become much more splintered and the demands on schools have only increased. Public school options will only increase, the cats ain't going back in the bag.
Schools have always served to shape the society of the future, but as our society has continued to splinter, so has our vision of what that society should look like. Democracy gives us the unique ability to debate and voice our individual visions. However, don't expect a sudden unification of vision to suddenly appear on the horizon. The demand for schooling that reflects individual values is only going to increase.
The discussion at some point has to be less focused on rejection and more on shaping to ensure that our public education system serves as many children as possible. Doing so may involve swallowing some hard caveats.
But to be able to hold that discussion, we have to be able to listen to each other and consider that outcomes may vary from what we predict.
Without the ability to talk to each other, it's just going to be more shouting and less success.
Ultimately, kids will pay the price.
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Here's some irony for you, Governor Lee is worried that people will see TISA as nothing but a vehicle for expanding school choice, yet he allowed Commissioner of Education Lizzette Reynolds to proceed with changes in the state's school accountability model. That move is seen by school officials as one designed to spur families to change schools, and many are starting to speak out.
These aren't Democrats publicly voicing concerns either. Though there are plenty of them as well. Earning their ire beyond Lee's proposed Education Freedom Scholarships is the state's recently released school letter grades.
"I don’t think this is indicative of our student's knowledge or education," said Tammy Sharp, an elected Republican Rutherford County Board of Education member in questioning school grades. "I do think it is an effort to enforce the need for vouchers to make the schools look like they are failing."
Fellow Republican board member Clair Maxwell echoed those sentiments,
"I do believe that this is tied to the vouchers," said Maxwell, who's the vice chairwoman of the school board. "It's not fair. By changing the parameters and not measuring academic growth as much and concentrating on proficiency, it has really hurt some of our schools that would have performed better under the older system."
But fear not, Governor Bill Lee swears that is untrue. Of course, his response through his Press Secretary Elizabeth Lane Johnson fails to acknowledge the changes to the formula made by Commissioner Reynolds.
"It's factually incorrect to claim that letter grades are a political push of any kind," Johnson said. "They exist to provide parents and teachers with a snapshot of how each school is performing in meeting the state's expectations for learning, student achievement, and college and career readiness."
I wish she'd tell me exactly who was clamoring for these grades. If I've said it once, I've said it 100 times, parents already have their rating system. It's different from the state's and unlikely to be superseded by the state. But I digress.
Rutherford County Schools Director James "Jimmy" Sullivan was even more pointed in his criticism.
"We object to the way the system was rolled out without transparency and communication to local school districts," Sullivan said. "The department did not provide cut scores until after the final results were released to districts a few days ago on Dec. 12.”
The Director went on to liken the release of the school grades to playing a football game without defined rules and then being notified a year later whether you won or lost.
“As director of schools, it is my intention to always provide timely and transparent performance data to our employees and our parents," Sullivan said. "We expect the same level of transparency from the state level, so we can ensure we are serving our students and their needs."
Leaders of a high-performing suburban Memphis school district have also denounced the process as a sham. A statement signed by Superintendent Jeff Mayo and school board members, including Dale Viox, president of the Tennessee School Boards Association, was recently released.
“This is all an attempt to paint Tennessee public schools as failing, thus ushering in a new era of vouchers for all,” the statement from Arlington Community Schools said.
Per Chalkbeat, Viox said the TSBA is already instructing its members to pass formal board resolutions opposing vouchers. And it’s urging school boards to promote the strengths of their public schools and appeal directly to lawmakers.
“I think you’re going to find more and more people want to speak out about it,” Viox told Chalkbeat, “because there’s a lot of people in this area that I know personally and across the state that care a great deal about public education and doing right by students.”
This is only going to get even more interesting as more superintendents begin to speak out against the grades and vouchers. Traditionally district leaders have had a lot to say privately, but publicly they toed the company line.
There may be a change in the air.
But let me see if I understand Lee's logic.
Public thinking TISA is about vouchers is bad.
Public thinking school letter grade changes are about vouchers is not bad.
Yea...
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Last time out, I pointed out the number of Democrats running for the MNPS school board in the upcoming primaries.
In Tennessee, districts have the option to make elections partisan or non-partisan. Not everybody has chosen to make their race partisan. Davidson County has, and only 2 Republicans are running,
In surrounding counties, the story is different. In Clarksville, it's reversed from Nashville, with 6 Republicans and 2 Democrats running.
Rutherford is 7 Republicans and 1 Democrat.
Wilson County numbers are similar, 7 Rs and 3 Ds.
So perhaps I was a bit hasty in chalking this up as an advantage to the Democrats.
We'll have to see how it plays out.
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Here's some more irony for you. A recent poll by the Beacon Center showed that 68% of Tennesseans support a statewide education savings account program and that 52% were more likely to vote for a candidate who supported a statewide education savings account program.
Predictably there was pushback by voucher opponents against the polling and how the question was worded:
Under Tennessee’s existing Education Savings Account (ESA) program, families of eligible K-12 students can use a portion of their per-pupil funding on certain educational expenses such as private school tuition, tutoring, educational therapy, or other educational purposes. These ESAs are available to families in Memphis, Nashville, and Chattanooga. Gov. Bill Lee has proposed an Education Freedom Scholarship Act to give the same options to all Tennessee families. Would you support or oppose expanding educational choice statewide? *
If you look closely at the question, describing an ESA as a "portion of their per-pupil funding" is a little misleading. It makes it sound as if everyone is getting their per-pupil funding and only certain residents are allowed to use it as desired.
Now, if the ESAs were being run through TISA, the statement would be accurate. But it is not and the question doesn't clarify that the money in question is separate from per-pupil funding. Something the Governor is very proud of, and touted by his Press Secretary
"Not a single dollar currently funding public schools via TISA (Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement) will be used to fund Education Freedom Scholarships," said Johnson, adding that the money for the proposed Education Freedom Scholarships would be allocated from the state's general fund.
So yes... pushback is warranted.
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A recent article in the Nashville Scene honors those we lost in 2023. Unfortunately, it is a list that contains way too many personal friends. While the recognition from the Scene is certainly welcome, I sure wish they were here to honor them in person.
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Looks like the more things change the more they stay the same.
Folks at the University of Florida are likely wondering if they'll be seeing their new Vice President for PK-12 with any regularity.
Schwinn landed the $375K job back in September, but since then there is little evidence that she has spent much time in the Sunshine State.
I'd remind Floridians, that the ex-commissioner spent much of the end of her tenure in Tennessee outside the state lines as well.
The education gypsy has further failed to update her LinkedIn status. The social media platform has her most recent position as Commissioner.
If I was getting a third of a million-a-year paycheck, I'd be letting everybody know.
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Saw a Facebook post outlining the new policy at Glencliff sporting events. Going forward. all spectators at all sporting events will be subject to a search by a metal detector or physical search. Refusal is considered grounds for denial of admission. Reading the post, I thought, what has Glencliff done now?
Well, turns out, it's not a Glencliff issue, but rather a district issue. One that is being unfairly dropped on the feet of individual schools.
The reason for the new policy is because back on December 9th, a teenager was carrying a loaded 9 millimeter on campus. According to a MNPD press release the teenager was gambling in the bathroom during the game, and had the gun stuck in his pants. The kid was disarmed and detained without incident.
In a typical reactive MNPS fashion, the district quickly implemented the new policy without proper preparation or communication. Now principals are scrambling to comply.
To meet the mandate, staffing will need to be secured. That means added responsibility for school staff and increased costs for individual schools with little guidance, or assistance from district leaders.
What about public perception? The public, when confronted with the new policy, is likely to attribute it to the specific school. Especially since the district has done nothing to indicate otherwise. That can’t help a school’s reputation.
A glance at MNPS's school sports page shows only a story about Overton grad Mookie Betts and Will Ferrell going to an LA hockey game. MNPS's regular page also fails to mention or explain the new process.
Good thing the district has a Chief of Communications making 200K, right?
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Here's a little pallet cleanser for you. Over the holiday season, there were several college football bowl games played. Former MNPS players made significant contributions to those games.
In the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl, Pearl-Cohn High School alumnus and University of Kentucky sophomore Barion Brown scored three touchdowns. One rushing (22 yards), one receiving (60 yards), and one on a kick return (100 yards). Brown was named Co-MVP of the bowl game.
Adonai Michell, University of Texas wide receiver and Cane Ridge High School alumnus had four catches and scored a touchdown in the Allstate Sugar Bowl in New Orleans.
Pearl- Cohn High alumni Elijah Simmons and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville Volunteers played in the Citrus Bowl. Simmons had two tackles and a sack against Iowa.
Former Cane Ridge Raven and Virginia Tech freshman Mose Phillips III had seven tackles in the Hokies’ Military Bowlwin over Tulane.
Nicely played gentleman.
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Time to rattle the cup a little bit before I head out the door.
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