Tennessee Department of Education Commissioner Lizzette Reynolds told state lawmakers there’s no easy way for the state to avoid federal education requirements by simply rejecting federal education dollars.Some Republican lawmakers have expressed an interest in rejecting more than a billion in federal education dollars to avoid complying those requirements and Tennessee General Assembly leaders created a Joint Working Group on Federal Education Funding to evaluate the idea’s feasibility earlier this year. This week members of that group are holding three hearings including one Tuesday morning highlighted by Commissioner Reynolds and her administration. 

On the morning of September 18, the Dean of Instruction for Stanford Montessori Elementary School used her publicly funded time and email address to do something that had nothing to do with the education of her students.Sarah Blanchard sent out emails to not only encourage some of her school’s parents to oppose a proposed Montessori school, she also gave them questionable talking points for how to speak out from School Board Member and Stanford Montessori parent Dr. Berthena Nabaa-McKinney.

Leaders of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) told Tennessee lawmakers there may be options to get around the requirements that come with federal education dollars without outright rejecting them.In recent months, some Republican lawmakers have expressed an interest in rejecting more than a billion in federal education dollars to avoid complying with federal requirements.  Leaders created a Joint Working Group on Federal Education Funding to evaluate the idea’s feasibility earlier this year and this week members held four meetings to hear from experts.NCSL Senior Legislative Director Austin Reid provided a briefing Wednesday morning, saying Washington is the only state the organization is aware of that has lost federal funds for refusing to comply with a federal policy. That policy is no longer a requirement.

Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS) announced Wednesday that its search firm has selected a pool of candidates to interview in the ongoing search for a new superintendent.Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates (HYA) is now conducting interviews with 21 applicants from seven different states.Each applicant is scheduled to receive a video-conference interview with HYA.

Nashville State Community College (NCC), the Tennessee College of Applied Technologies (TCAT) Dickson,  TriStar Horizon Medical Center, and The Jackson Foundation jointly announced a $35 million investment Wednesday to create a new place for students to earn a college degree, technical and career certificate, or certification in workforce programs.The Dickson County Higher Education Center will stand on TriStar Horizon’s Natchez campus off Highway 46, just south of Interstate 40. It will be the permanent Dickson campus for Nashville State and provide TCAT Dickson with a new location for academic programming.

Non-partisan think tank the Sycamore Institute told Tennessee lawmakers other states would likely receive most federal education dollars Tennessee chooses to reject.Organization Deputy Director Mandy Spears provided a briefing to members of the Joint Working Group on Federal Education Funding Tuesday morning. That group is currently holding meetings to consider whether rejecting federal education dollars is a realistic option for Tennessee.

Knox County Schools announced more reforms are coming for the district’s special education program.Assistant Superintendent of Student Success Jason Myers unveiled the launch of a standing special education council at Monday night’s school board meeting that will provide input and perspective to the work that is already underway to improve special education. The district is inviting each member of the recently created special education task force to be a part of that council, along with general education teachers, special education teachers, and district leaders.

The Tennessee Department of Education is likely still more than a month away from releasing an A through F letter grade for every public school and the department has received plenty of feedback for how it plans to do it.Last week Commissioner Lizzette Reynolds unveiled the system her department will use to create School Letter Grades. That calculation will measure schools on student achievement and student growth along with other factors like how well schools are preparing students for college and careers.

Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, and Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, attracted national attention this fall when they created a joint taskforce to study whether Tennessee can reject federal education dollars.One of the co-chairs of the Joint Working Group on Federal Education Funding opened the group’s first meeting by casting doubt members will actually propose spending less on educating children.

Students at MLK College Preparatory High School in Frayser will get to choose from among six schools to attend beginning next school year, as Memphis-Shelby County Schools begins construction of a new high school on the same site.

When Lizzette Reynolds took over as Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Education in late July, she immediately inherited the huge job of deciding how to provide an A through F letter grade to every public school in the state.Thursday, Commissioner Reynolds unveiled exactly how her department plans to do that, through a simple calculation that mostly splits student achievement and student growth equally. 

A new survey of Tennessee teachers shows a strong majority are supportive of the state’s efforts to improve literacy.The 2023 Tennessee Educator Survey found perception of the English language arts (ELA) curriculum improved for more than 70 percent of educators.The Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) and the Tennessee Education Research Alliance (TERA) released key findings and responses from the survey this week. The state administered the survey to 50 percent of teachers and 47 percent of administrators from February 27 to April 17.

Memphis-Shelby County Schools announced Wednesday that it’s launching a new field trip program to give students free learning opportunities outside the classroom walls.The $3 million investment called Discovering Memphis will fund field trips to the National Civil Rights Museum (NCRM) for eighth and eleventh-graders and the children’s museum for first-graders.

If his school community had to choose between himself and its nine therapy dogs, David Snowden jokes that “the director of schools would have to go.”Now in his 23rd year as leader of Franklin Special School District, south of Nashville, Snowden has championed the canine program since Mattie Grace became the school system’s first trained therapy dog in 2018.

Tennessee’s efforts to increase early literacy appear to be paying off according to the latest review by the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office.The Comptroller released its second annual review of the implementation of the Tennessee Literacy Success Act (TLSA), which aims to ensure that students are on track to becoming proficient readers by the end of third-grade.The review found that Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) scores in English language arts (ELA) are increasing along with the universal reading screener results showing positive trends.

Today is the deadline for high school seniors to apply for the Tennessee Promise, which offers two years of tuition-free college. Here’s what you need to know to apply.

In 2021 the Tennessee Department of Education announced a major undertaking to reform early childhood literacy.The department’s Reading 360 initiative aimed to invest $100 million to help Tennessee students learn to read through the science of reading.A nationwide study released earlier this year illustrates just how big of a challenge Tennessee is facing ensuring all future teachers are utilizing research-based reading instruction techniques.