Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed Marine Veteran JC. Bowman in studio to talk about what it was like arriving at Marine boot camp on Paris Island, South Carolina in the early 80s.
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Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed Marine veteran JC. Bowman in studio to talk about what it was like signing up for America’s exclusive fighting force—the Corps.
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Wednesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed Professional Educators of Tennessee’s head, JC Bowman in studio to take a closer look at Tennessee’s NAEP scores which reveal Davidson, Shelby, and Madison County public schools failing.
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Wednesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed Professional Educators of Tennessee’s head, JC Bowman to review the recent NAEP scores revealing little progress since 1970 inception.
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Wednesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed Professional Educators of Tennessee President JC Bowman in studio to examine the large percentage of public-school student dropouts across the country.
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Results of the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP), also known as the Nation’s Report Card, show Tennessee’s scores reflected the unprecedented national declines in student achievement tied to the extended school closures demanded by teachers’ unions and their allies in government.
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Like any other test, I am careful about reading too much into the latest National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) results. With NAEP, representative samples of students rather than the entire national, state, or district populations take the test every two years and only in 4, 8, and 12th grades.
National Center for Education Statistics Commissioner Peggy Carr said “specific pandemic-era local decisions, like how long to keep a school or district shuttered, aren’t solely the cause of these results. Exploring that deserves more research.” My response: “Why?”
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A late September letter from the Federal Department of Education (DOE) to the Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) threatened to pull TDOE’s federal funding over what the federal government describes as failure to comply with federal assessment reporting standards in 2021.
“The assessment and accountability compliance issues are significant because they not only impact the State’s ability to provide clear and transparent information to the public about school performance, but also result in the State using information that is not comparable across schools in TDOE’s statewide accountability system,” said the letter addressed to Tennessee Department of Education Commissioner Peggy Schwinn.
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Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed the head of Professional Educators of Tennessee, JC Bowman in studio to comment upon the recent letter from the US Department of Education regarding the missing implementation of assessment and accountability requirements.
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Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed Professional Educators of Tennessee Executive Director and CEO JC Bowman in studio to discuss the implementation of the Instructional Practice Guide for only Williamson County public school teachers forcing teachers to stick to a “script.”
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Friday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed Professional Educators of Tennessee Executive Director and CEO JC Bowman in studio to comment upon Tennessee’s Commissioner of Education, Penny Schwinn who made a special trip to the White House on Wednesday.
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Friday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed Professional Educators of Tennessee Executive Director and CEO JC Bowman in studio to discuss the lack of local control Tennesseans have on their public school education and doing away with the federal Department of Education.
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Friday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed Professional Educators of Tennessee Executive Director and CEO J.C. Bowman in studio to discuss the factors that pertain to a successful public school system and national educational reports.
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Monday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed Professional Educators of Tennessee Executive Director and CEO JC Bowman to the newsmaker line to discuss the recent firing of Shelby County Schools Superintendent Dr. Joris Ray and the pitfalls of jamming through Educational Savings Accounts to parents and their students.
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Friday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed Executive Director & CEO of Professional Educators of Tennessee JC Bowman in studio to comment upon the recent statements made by Hilldale College’s Larry Arnn at an event with Governor Bill Lee regarding education.
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People should make decisions that result in their best life possible which should include intellectual and moral effort. The Declaration of Independence identified our national identity and the moral standard by which we would live as a nation. The Declaration of Independence was identified by Harry Jaffa as the soul of America, and the Constitution as its body.
The critical elements needed in society today are virtue and character. Aristotle warned that educating the mind without educating the heart is “no education at all.” Although Thomas Jefferson never explained the phrase “the pursuit of happiness” found in the Declaration of Independence, he used a concept put forth by both John Locke and George Mason.
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Wednesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed the Executive Director & CEO of Professional Educators of Tennessee, JC Bowman to explain the change of the Basic Education Program to the new TISA (Tennessee Investment and Student Achievement) and how it will create another level of bureaucracy.
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Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed the Executive Director & CEO of Professional Educators of Tennessee, JC Bowman in studio to talk about how they differentiate from teachers’ unions and the upcoming Leader U Professional Development Conference event, Tuesday, June 7th at Middle Tennessee State University.
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Growing up with the name O’Bannon I was vaguely aware that there was a famous person named Presley O’Bannon who was important in American History. When I got married 37 years ago to a Marine Corp veteran who has a degree in history, I was informed that not only was Presley O’Bannon an important figure in history, he was especially important to the Marines. The United States Marine Corps hymn opens with “From the halls of Montezuma, to the shores of Tripoli, we fight our country’s battles on the land and on the sea.” Presley O’Bannon was the man who led battles on the shores of Tripoli from whence the song lyrics came.
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Data available from state and local government payroll records – not readily available to the public – show “substantially steeper declines in public-sector union membership” in the United States.
“The best data available are state- and local-government payroll records,” Daniel DiSalvo, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, wrote at City Journal Wednesday.
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Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed the Executive Director & CEO of Professional Educators of Tennessee, JC Bowman in studio to comment upon the Tennessee Investment for Student Achievement and Governor Lee’s relationship with Bill Gates.
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Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed the Executive Director & CEO of Professional Educators of Tennessee, JC Bowman in studio to give his predictions on the passage of the Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement act scheduled for a vote in both the House and Senate.
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Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed the Executive Director & CEO of Professional Educators of Tennessee, JC Bowman in studio to discuss the equity and mechanics of the Basic Education Program funding and how it will be dispersed.
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The anticipated sales tax revenues associated with proposed upgrades to Titans Stadium could be a good idea, says JC Bowman, executive director & CEO of Professional Educators of Tennessee, but whether such a plan is “sustainable” in the long term remains a question.
In an interview with The Tennessee Star, Bowman assessed recent statements by Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton about the state investing in upgrades to Titans Stadium with the expectation that sales tax generated from major events could be invested in K-12 education, particularly in the state’s rural areas.
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Public school students throughout Tennessee last week celebrated School Board Appreciation Week, where students were encouraged to praise their local school board members. Staff, students, and parents at public schools were asked to adopt a board member. They sent cards and artwork to board members. They were also asked to create school board appreciation posters or ask students to draw posters of them.
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Friday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed JC Bowman, CEO of Professional Educators of Tennessee in studio to dicuss who they are and the the failed concept of Achievement School Districts.
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Tennessee state officials took charge of four Memphis schools a decade ago that struggled academically, and those same state officials hoped to perform better than the local school systems had. But that did not happen.
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Some of the Tennessee’s educators said in a new survey that they worried about students missing class time during the time of COVID-19. Officials with the Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) and the Tennessee Education Research Alliance (TERA) on Sunday released what they said were key findings and responses from the 2021 Tennessee Educator Survey from 40,000 educators.
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A new state law that limits teaching Critical Race Theory (CRT) has prompted the Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) to propose new rules as it pertains to teaching on the subject of race in public schools. According to state of Tennessee’s website, educators may not teach that one race is superior to another race. They also cannot teach that an individual is privileged due to race or sex, whether consciously or subconsciously. They also may not teach that the United States is fundamentally or irredeemably racist or sexist.
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Tennessee is a unique state, not only because we have the greatest citizens, but because of our geography. We border eight states. That can be an advantage and a disadvantage at times. When economic times are good, people want to relocate to our state. When economic times are difficult, it allows residents to move to a neighboring state and pursue more money in their chosen occupation. In education, we lose teachers to our border states on a regular basis.
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As educators, we are concerned about the quality and quantity of applicants entering the field of education. Our members have often been catalysts for innovative solutions to the many challenges facing education. That is why we take an interest in the next generation of educators and why our focus is on how to improve their experience and support as they transition from teacher candidate to classroom teacher.
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The Tennessee Education Association has lost 44 percent of its members in the last decade.
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As Chairman of SCORE, Senator Bill Frist should be commended and honored for his tireless advocacy and passion for making education a priority in our state.
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Teachers simply cannot give up on themselves, nor can we ever give up on our students. We have to improvise, adapt, and overcome both our personal and systemic challenges.
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Members of the Cheatham County School System changed course and will resume with collaborative conferencing, but School System Director Cathy Beck must approve a committee to that effect by next week.
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The Tennessee General Assembly was clear in 2011 that they wanted to get politics out of our public schools while supporting teachers’ rights to fight for higher wages and better working conditions. Professional Educators of Tennessee fervently supports the right of educators to discuss working conditions and salary with their employers.
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WSMV polled the four major Nashville mayoral candidates on whether the Metro Nashville Public Schools superintendent should report to the mayor instead of the school board, and only one said “Yes.” That candidate was Dr. Carol Swain. WSMV’s story is here. The Metro Nashville mayoral candidates who were polled…
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Our nation, our republic, is unquestionably dependent upon the active and informed involvement of our citizens.
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Children, the next generation, and the hope for a better future in our society need men and women of the highest moral standards to embrace teaching them. Ethics still matter.
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Let’s be honest, being a dad is actual work—and it is difficult yet rewarding work.
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Our suggestion is to ensure that money is included in the future Basic Education Program (BEP) to allow for mentorship to occur, either by utilizing highly effective retired educators or granting stipends to experienced classroom teachers with a proven track record in classroom management.
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We must make sure public education is viewed as a significant part of the choice that parents will make for their children moving forward. People, working together, can shape it for the better.
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No matter who your district hires—whether from within or bringing in an experienced educator from outside—give that new leader a chance. Don’t be afraid to hold them accountable.
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We could never set aside enough days in a year, or hours in a week to honor the women that shape and inspire our lives daily.
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In the end, just like magnet schools, community schools, and charter schools, ESA’s will be viewed as another reform effort. Its success or failure will largely be defined by the students who participate in the program.
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The Tennessee Senate on Thursday approved legislation creating an independent state commission to approve public charter schools in Tennessee. Sen. Brian Kelsey (R-TN-31) is the sponsor of SB0796. The tracking information is here. The bill, which also passed the House of Representatives on Wednesday, is a key part of Governor…
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This weekend marks a Holy Week for many citizens across Tennessee and the world, as we celebrate Passover and Easter. In America, religious beliefs are critical to many of our founding principles. There is no denying the significant impact that faith has had on our nation, from the Puritans to…
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As Tennessee policymakers discuss the issue of school choice Professional Educators of Tennessee (“PET”) is launching a positive, pro-public education initiative to make sure public education is viewed as a valid choice that parents can make for their children. “We are excited to announce a new initiative by PET to help…
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In education, strikes are detrimental to children, parents, the community, and the profession. A strike is a throwback to an archaic factory model of governance. Public education in Tennessee wins when we all work together through civil discourse to address our considerable issues, not with outworn strategies from the industrial age.
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Gov. Bill Lee is moving forward on his campaign pledge of school choice in the form of Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) available in 2020, although only about one-half of one percent of the state’s students would qualify to participate in the program’s first year. The governor delivered his first State…
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