SCORE Releases State Policy Priorities

 A statewide education advocacy nonprofit founded by former U.S. Senator Bill Frist has released a list of education policy priorities for Tennessee.

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The Statewide Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) - a nonprofit issue advocacy group chaired by former U.S. Senator Bill Frist - today released a list of key education priorities they believe the Tennessee General Assembly should focus on when they return to session in January.

The group focused on three key areas they say merit policy attention. These include advancing high-quality instruction for every student, addressing the decline in the state's college-going rate, and ensuring Tennessee schools prepare students for work.

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Gov. Lee's Plan to Give Public Money to Private Schools

 From Tennessee Education Report:

Gov. Bill Lee made clear in his State of the State that he is a proponent of an alternative history known as “American exceptionalism.”

This theory is grounded in a sort of American evangelicalism – and certainly has strong ties to far-right Christian movements. To advance his “exceptionalism agenda” Lee has announced a partnership with conservative Hillsdale College – a private, Christian school in Michigan. Yes, Tennessee is such a great example of exceptionalism that we have to turn to a private college from Michigan to “properly” teach history.

Lee claims that he has been inspired by Reagan’s words. This inspiration is ostensibly the impetus for the focus on an American exceptionalism curriculum from Hillsdale College.

Of course, Reagan is no stranger to efforts to dismantle public education and turn schools over to those on the extreme right of the political spectrum.

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For more on news impacting Hendersonville and Sumner County, follow @HvilleNews

What is the impact of the growing teacher shortage?

 From Tennessee Education Report: 

Last Saturday, some teacher friends and I were having lunch, and the conversation turned to the conditions required for students to trust their teachers with questions about racism, equity, and justice. 

One of the teachers was recounting a recent experience with some of her students who were discussing the use of a racial epithet by some other students. Some were quoting recent headlines and others were using it in full while questioning appropriate usage. It sounded very much like kids playing with fire – it was dangerous, potentially harmful, and if things got out of hand, there was the risk that people would be hurt. Lines were crossed and confusion was leading to injury, so they came to this teacher seeking some help and guidance. 

She shared the details of the conversation she facilitated with them, in between classes, in the hallway, then later in the day for some follow up. It was tricky and sensitive, and it worked – everyone involved in the conversation reported leaving it with a better understanding of the risks, the consequences, and the humanity involved. 

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For more on news impacting Hendersonville and Sumner County, follow @HvilleNews

Portland East Hosts Battle of the Bots

 From the Portland Sun: 

The Battle of the Bots was held at Portland East Middle School (PEMS) on Nov. 13.

The competition was part of the VEX IQ Challenge. Students build robots from VEX IQ kits and compete with other teams to earn points to advance to higher levels of competition. This year nine schools competed involving around 100 students.

Schools can also order parts and build their own robots rather than using kits. PEMS uses parts to build their robots. The school has nine teams with 23 participants.

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For more on news impacting Hendersonville and Sumner County, follow @HvilleNews

Tennessee Reports Massive Revenue Surplus

 Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee is seeking to reallocate the school funding pie in a state that historically earns low marks for its investment in schools. Now, the Sycamore Institute reports Tennessee has a significant surplus – both banked dollars and recurring money – that could be used to help address a range of priorities.

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For more on news impacting Hendersonville and Sumner County, follow @HvilleNews

Gov. Lee Bringing School Funding Dog & Pony Show to Hendersonville

 Gov. Bill Lee will be hosting a Town Hall on the state's funding formula for schools in Hendersonville on October 27th. The event will be held at Merrol Hyde Magnet School at 5:30 PM. 

The Town Hall is part of Lee's effort to pitch his plan to re-work the formula for funding schools while not actually increasing education funding. 

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee is an unapologetic champion of school privatization. While the Tennessee Supreme Court has delayed implementation of the voucher scheme Lee succeeded in passing in 2019, Lee has put on a full court press of other measures in order to bring privatization to the Volunteer State.

The latest effort comes by way of Lee attempting to “reform” the state’s school funding formula, known as the BEP. The move includes 18 subcommittees designed to make recommendations for revising the formula — even though Lee has indicated he has no plans to actually increase funding for schools.

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Lee's Administration has come under fire for failing to make a serious attempt at increased school funding in the midst of a giant surplus:

Tennessee ranks 46th in the nation for what we invest per student. It is irresponsible and harmful to Tennessee children to continue the pattern of insufficient state investment in our schools, especially at a time when Tennessee has the largest revenue surpluses in state history. We can and must do better for our students.

 For more on news impacting Hendersonville and Sumner County, follow @HvilleNews

Tennessee School Funding Falls Flat

 Tennessee ranks 46th in the nation for what we invest per student. It is irresponsible and harmful to Tennessee children to continue the pattern of insufficient state investment in our schools, especially at a time when Tennessee has the largest revenue surpluses in state history. We can and must do better for our students.

Any review of the BEP funding formula must include more than recommendations on how to change the formula. Until the state makes a significant increase in public education funding to address many challenges plaguing our schools, updating a formula will not get us where we need to be to provide the high-quality public education Tennessee children deserve.

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For more on news impacting Hendersonville and Sumner County, follow @HvilleNews