Tennessee Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn’s Term in Office Officially Concludes

June 1st officially marked the end of Penny Schwinn’s tenure as the top education official in Tennessee. Schwinn submitted her resignation on May 1st but gave the state 30 days’ notice before making it official.

Long-time Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) employee Sam Pearcy will assume the reins for the next 30 days. At that time, Governor Bill Lee’s appointed successor, Lizzette Gonzalez Reynolds, officially begins her term.

Pearcy most recently served as deputy commissioner. In that role, his primary focus was the transition to the state’s new public school funding formula, Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement (TISA).

Prior to serving as the deputy commissioner of Operations, Pearcy was the department’s chief operating officer.  In that role, he was instrumental in overseeing federal waivers, revised processes, and new supports for districts’ nutrition programs during times of school closure and as part of the department’s COVID-19 response.

A native Tennessean, Pearcy joined the department in 2013, leading the close-out of the state’s Race to the Top grant before transitioning roles to focus on improving the efficiency of state operations in support of districts.

Schwinn’s departure leaves the navigation of the state’s new third-grade retention implementation squarely on the shoulders of Pearcy. An implementation that has not been without problems.

By waiting until after 4 pm on May 19th to release state testing results, the TDOE created undo stress for parents and district officials. With make-up testing to begin on May 23, districts and parents were left scrambling to interpret the implications of the results inside a tight window. Many parents felt they lacked adequate information to make the decisions needed to avoid retention. Test results revealed that 60 percent of Tennessee third-grader were at risk for retention.

Adding confusion to a tight timeline, the Tennessee State Board of Education (SBE) did not provide rules guiding summer school requirements until hours before TCAP results were released. Initially, the SBE planned to pass rules back in March. However, a lack of preparation and transparency by the TDOE caused the board to postpone adoption until May.

It will be Pearcy’s responsibility to smooth out the implementation of the third-grade retention law while making the transition to TISA smooth for districts—a difficult job considering the ongoing staffing challenges at the TDOE.

Despite current circumstances, Tennessee’s education leaders voiced confidence in Pearcy’s abilities. J.C., Bowman, executive director of Professional Educators of Tennessee, told The Tennessee Star, “As a long-time Department of Education employee, Sam Pearcy will do a good job steering the ship until Lizzette Gonzales Reynolds arrives.  I do not expect any disruption in services.”

Gonzales Reynolds will officially start on July 1. She recently attended Lee’s cabinet retreat and is scheduled to begin meeting with state legislators in the upcoming weeks.

Schwinn has not revealed her future plans. Over the past several months, she has regularly participated in various education policy conventions, frequently serving as an invited panelist. Last week she appeared in DC at the Ronald Reagan Institute as part of a panel discussing teacher pay and ways to boost the teaching profession.

Panel 4 here at #RISE2023 will discuss teacher pay and ways to boost the teaching profession. Panelists include @SchwinnTeach, @Hunt_Institute's @jsiddiqi7, @LtGovColeman, @EdunomicsLab's @MargueriteRoza, and moderator @politico's @PerezJr. Watch here: https://t.co/abL6WMevXx pic.twitter.com/xvRcqqoioH

— Ronald Reagan Institute (RRI) (@ReaganInstitute) May 25, 2023

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TC Weber is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. He writes the blog Dad Gone Wild. Follow TC on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected]. He’s the proud parent of two public school children and the spouse of a public school teacher.