Williamson County School System Archives

Ben Carson Tells Williamson County Audience that Critical Race Theory Violates Martin Luther King Jr.’s Core Philosophy

January 15, 2022January 23, 2022 Chris Butler

FRANKLIN, Tennessee — Three days before the federal Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, Ben Carson traveled to Williamson County to tell a packed audience that Critical Race Theory (CRT) defies the teachings of the late civil rights activist. Carson, the former U.S. secretary of Housing and Urban Development, spoke at The Factory in Franklin, only a few miles away from the Williamson County School System’s (WCS’s) main office. Several frustrated parents have long said that the WCS continues to teach CRT, against those parents’ wishes.

Brentwood High School Students Allegedly Asked About Their Gender Pronouns

August 11, 2021August 10, 2021 Chris Butler

Brentwood High School staff members gave students a questionnaire on the first day of school this year and allegedly asked them to identify themselves by the gender pronouns “She/her/hers,” “He/him/his,” “They/them/theirs,” or “other.” Middle Tennessee residents posted a screenshot of the questionnaire on their Facebook pages late last week. The posters said someone at Brentwood High — whom they did not identify — took the photograph.

Williamson County School System in Tennessee Won’t Comment on Texas Cultural Competency Plan That Preaches All Whites Are Racist

May 5, 2021June 9, 2021 Chris Butler

Officials at one public school system in Texas use a cultural competency plan that teaches that all whites are racist, and it was unclear Tuesday if those ideas have made their way to Tennessee. Officials at the Williamson County School System in Tennessee wouldn’t say Tuesday if their own cultural competency plan mirrors the one that teachers use in Texas’ Southlake Carroll Independent School District. The Federalist describes the Texas curriculum in a report this week.

Local Williamson County Group Describes Required Elementary School Readings That Allegedly Push Critical Race Theory

April 30, 2021June 9, 2021 Chris Butler

Members of the group Moms for Liberty — Williamson County (ML-WC) have detailed examples of books that elementary students within the Williamson County School System must read that allegedly perpetuate Critical Race Theory (CRT).

ML-WC said last week they want to alert parents about this curriculum called, “Wit and Wisdom.” They have published a website detailing examples of CRT within the school system.

Williamson County School System Officials Deny They Are Pushing Critical Race Theory, Critics Call it Marxist

April 27, 2021June 9, 2021 Chris Butler

Staff at the Williamson County School System say on their official website that they are not implementing Critical Race Theory (CRT) into their curriculum, although other people insist that, yes, it has infested the schools.

And those same people who want the alleged Critical Race Theory removed said WCS officials must withdraw from it immediately.

William County Schools Sets ‘Listen and Learn’ Sessions with Diversity Firm

April 14, 2021June 9, 2021 Chris Butler

Members of the Williamson County School System have already held three of nine sessions as part of a program they say will stamp out what they call a pattern of racism within the school district. As The Tennessee Star reported in February, Williamson County School Board members voted unanimously that month to hire a firm, Fostering Healthy Solutions, to help carry out their objectives.

Carol Swain Says Williamson County Risks Increasing Racial Tension with Cultural Competency Program

November 24, 2020November 23, 2020 Chris Butler

Members of the Williamson County School System are reportedly looking to implement a cultural competency program, but former Nashville mayoral candidate Carol Swain said it will likely divide different categories of people even further.

The Nashville-based FOX 17 reported last week that Williamson County School System Superintendent Jason Golden wants a cultural strategy program.

But Swain told The Tennessee Star Monday that Golden and school board members need to ponder what, exactly, they want to accomplish.

Williamson County Teachers Suspended Without Pay for Not Wearing COVID-19 Masks

October 14, 2020October 14, 2020 Chris Butler

Two Williamson County School (WCS) System teachers, both of whom said they have previously unblemished records, said Tuesday that school administrators have suspended them without pay, indefinitely, because they refuse to wear COVID-19 masks.

And both of those teachers, Aundrea Laramee-Gomez and Tonya Homme, spoke on the record about their respective suspensions — even if they said it means they both might lose their jobs.

Williamson County Schools Have Power to Monitor Students’ Internet

October 23, 2019October 22, 2019 Chris Butler

Members of the Williamson County School System now monitor their students’ school-assigned Internet accounts through a program known as Gaggle, but one county resident fears unintended consequences.

Williamson County Schools Have No Measures in Place to Prevent Teachers from Politicizing Curriculum

September 28, 2019September 27, 2019 Chris Butler

One portion of the Williamson County School System’s social studies curriculum about U.S. presidents appears politically balanced, and teachers may pick and choose certain portions that put certain presidents in positive or negative lights.

Parents Say They Balanced Williamson County Schools Obama History Lesson

September 26, 2019September 27, 2019 Chris Butler

A Williamson County parent says she and a few other people can take credit for forcing members of the Williamson County School System to offer a social studies curriculum that now has less of a left-wing slant.

Williamson County Parents Can Review Curriculum for Left-Wing Bias

September 25, 2019September 24, 2019 Chris Butler

FRANKLIN — Parents of students in the Williamson County School System who worry that school officials politicize their child’s social studies curriculum have a right to view the material if they wish. The Tennessee Star reviewed a portion of the school system’s social studies curriculum Tuesday, with the caveat…

TIP: Williamson County School System Blocks The Tennessee Star on Servers

April 13, 2019April 12, 2019 Chris Butler

The Tennessee Star has apparently fallen out of the good graces of the Williamson County School System. Sources in-the-know, who requested anonymity, told us last week The Star was no longer available for viewing through the school district’s Internet network. Teachers, students, school administrators could not read The Tennessee Star,…

Williamson County School Board Member Rick Wimberly Passes the Buck to Mike Looney on Cultural Competency Committee Questions

March 30, 2019March 29, 2019 Chris Butler

If you live in Williamson County and have questions or misgivings about the school system’s Cultural Competency video series then, like most people, you’re likely to contact your school board representative. And you would expect your school board representative is on top of things and knows just as much as…

WCS Superintendent Mike Looney Refuses to Answer The Tennessee Star’s Questions About Violations of State Law

March 22, 2019March 21, 2019 Chris Butler

Williamson County School Superintendent Mike Looney has long evaded The Tennessee Star’s questions about the “white privilege” in-service training he imposed on teachers during the current academic year, but Thursday he made clear he refuses to talk to us. “You have mislead [sic], editorializied [sic] and been less than honest in your…

Report: Williamson County Schools Teaming Up with Leftist Southern Poverty Law Center

March 12, 2019March 11, 2019 Chris Butler

Williamson County Schools will send teachers to a series of workshops in Franklin this coming May that is a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center, according to a source. Those workshops, called Teaching Tolerance, are scheduled for May 3 and May 4 at the Embassy Suites by Hilton in…

The Tennessee Star Wants to Hear from Parents, Students, and Teachers for Eyewitness Accounts of Alleged ‘Racist Incident’ at Sunset Middle School in Brentwood

March 11, 2019March 10, 2019 Chris Butler

An alleged “racist incident” occurred in January at Brentwood’s Sunset Middle School, according to Friday’s Tennessean, five months after the Williamson County School System launched a system-wide “Cultural Competency Series” of In-Service training days for teachers. Allegedly, some students at the school linked arms in between classes, formed a human…

Williamson County Schools Spending 22 Percent More on In-Service Training for Teachers This Academic Year

March 10, 2019March 10, 2019 Chris Butler

The Williamson County School System is serious about prioritizing its In-Service teacher training, so much so administrators spent 22 percent more on it for this 2018-19 school year versus the prior one. According to the school system’s budget, administrators spent $689,989 on their In-Service/Staff Development training this school year. For…

Williamson County School System Director Apologizes for ‘Gross Error in Judgement’ on Slavery Assignment

March 1, 2019March 1, 2019 Chris Butler

As part of an assignment, eighth-grade social studies teachers at Brentwood’s Sunset Middle School asked students to pretend their family owns slaves. Students then had to create a list of expectations for the family’s slaves. The assignment didn’t sit well with Williamson County Schools Superintendent Mike Looney, who has publicly…