“You’ll never decide what you want until you’ve decided who you are.”
―
Who’s in charge of education policy in Tennessee?
It seems like a pretty straightforward question, right? Those with a passing knowledge might answer that it’s the General Assembly who set’s policy.
Those with a little deeper knowledge might elaborate more by saying that the General Assembly expresses their priorities based on the desires of their populace. The State Board of Education takes the legislation created by elected officials and creates policy out of it. The TNDOE in turn implements and enforces that policy. Local districts use the boundaries created by DOE policy and mix them with local preferences to execute local governance.
While that is the way it is supposed to work, there is a growing body of evidence that suggests a different story in Tennessee. A story where two private entities, funded by a third, wield more power than that of elected officials. Entities that remain cloaked from the general public while they work their magic. Magic that seemingly benefits their friends and family more than the students and families of Tennessee.
This past week I was finally able to confirm that The New Teacher Project was the recipient of an $8 million state contract(69466 TDOE_TNTP_FA_Literacy_Services_Agreement_FY21 copy) for teacher training. The contract means that the training on foundational skills for all k-5 teachers mandated by recently passed legislation will be facilitated by TNTP, close associates of both SCORE and Commissioner Schwinn. It’s a contract produced by a flawed RFP CONTINUE READING: WHO’S ZOOMING WHO? – Dad Gone Wild
