Image Credit: FutureEd, Donald J. Trump / Facebook, Google Earth
The Tennessee Conservative [By Paula Gomes] –
With Tennesseans on both sides of the political aisle decrying President-Elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Deputy Secretary of Education, here are a few reasons why Trump should dump his Penny Schwinn pick.
• During the pandemic, Schwinn hatched a plot to roll out mandatory well-being checks on every child in Tennessee from birth to 18.
• Under Schwinn’s leadership, Tennessee’s Education Department issued guidance that encouraged students and staff members to mask when they returned to school, and passed the buck to local school districts to decide whether or not to implement mandates.
• Schwinn was responsible for bringing Critical Race Theory (CRT) into the state’s public schools through the Trojan horse that is Wit & Wisdom.
• She also signed a contract with a company that provided teacher training to the state despite her husband working for the company, a potential conflict of interest.
Schwinn, who served as the state’s Education Commissioner from 2019 to 2023, was mistakenly called “Peggy” in Trump’s initial announcement on Truth Social on Friday.
A strong supporter of school choice, Schwinn would serve at the agency under Linda McMahon.
In his post, Trump lauded Schwinn for her “strong record of delivering results for children and families” while highlighting many of the positions she has held in various states. His pick came as a surprise to many Tennesseans who were ready to see Schwinn leave in 2020, but endured three more years of poor performance before she finally stepped down.
Let’s take a closer look at that “strong record” of Schwinn’s.
The Mandatory Well-being Checks
In August of 2020, under Schwinn’s leadership, the COVID-19 Child Well-being Task Force in Tennessee developed a guidance toolkit for a $1 million plan to check up on every child in the state. The plan included all children that attended public schools, private schools, were homeschooled or were even too young for school in the first place. The massive government overreach this would have entailed would have meant that every family in the state received a phone call, email or home visit from a program liaison. The checks were intended to include a review of vaccination records and any parents who refused to participate would have ominously been documented for not going along with the Big Brother style scheme.
Due to immediate public uproar, the initiative was withdrawn just three days after its announcement. Schwinn tried to mitigate the disaster of the public’s perception of the program by telling members of the General Assembly that the guidance was meant to only address at-risk students. “Although well-intentioned, we have missed the mark on communication,” wrote Schwinn.
However, internal documents between staff members at the Education Department showed that the plan all along was to check in with every child in the state.
Masking Guidance for School Children and Teachers
Later in 2020, the Education Department issued guidance stating that they were “encouraging” all middle and high school students and all staff members in the state to return to school wearing masks. Schwinn then allowed school districts to decide whether or not to implement mask mandates.
One of the primary roles of both the Governor’s office and the Tennessee General Assembly is to secure the constitutional right of Tennesseans. Allowing local boards of education to oversee requirements for masking had them overstepping their authority. School board meetings across the state became contentious with many calling in local sheriffs to keep law and order.
Conservatives called on Governor Bill Lee to take action.
Wit & Wisdom
The Wit & Wisdom curriculum, the subject of a lawsuit brought by Williamson County parents, failed to pass Tennessee state standards, even though it was reviewed by two separate committees. Despite this, it eventually found its way into the state’s classrooms anyway due to a waiver granted by the Tennessee Department of Education with Schwinn at its helm. Even more egregious, it replaced curriculum that had passed all state standards.
Department of Education with Schwinn at its helm. Even more egregious, it replaced a curriculum that had passed all state standards.
Wit & Wisdom intertwines English Language Arts with Social Emotional Learning, which can cover for Critical Race Theory, something that lawmakers passed legislation against.
Schwinn was familiar with the curriculum as it was used at a charter school that she founded in her hometown of Sacramento, CA. That school, Capitol Collegiate Academy, is one of two nationwide that sat on a panel for the Wit & Wisdom’s publisher, Great Minds.
The waivers for Wit & Wisdom were granted by Schwinn for thirty-three counties within the state while she was a voting member for the Tennessee Textbook and Instructional Materials Quality Commission. For this action, Schwinn lost her voting rights on the commission.
Common themes found running through the curriculum, taught in K-5 classrooms include:
- Mean White People
- Cannibalism
- Suicidal Ideation
- Extreme Emotion
- Anti-Nuclear Family
- Dark Imagery
- Inappropriate Topics
- Anti-America
- Graphic Death
Age-inappropriate content was also found in the following grades:
Kindergarten: Murder
1st Grade: Graphic Mating, Gender Fluidity
2nd Grade: Anti-Police, Anti-Fire Department
3rd Grade: Anti-Church, Torture
4th Grade: Rape, Murder, Adultery, Scalping/Skinning, Stillbirth
5th Grade: Gore, Excessive Violence, Alcoholism, Promiscuity & Harmful Relationships
Conflict of Interest
Millions of taxpayer dollars were spent on contracts with TNTP, a teacher training company hired to help students emerge from a learning lull caused by the pandemic. The company employed Schwinn’s husband, Paul. The initial contract was signed a full month before the Central Procurement Office gave final approval to a mitigation plan meant to ensure that Schwinn avoided any conflicts of interest. Despite this, the Fiscal Review Committee approved an extension through 2024, doubling the original $8 million contract that was previously approved.
Penny Schwinn was not good for Tennessee Public Education and Tennesseans were glad to see her go. Many are puzzled by Trump’s decision to elevate her to a federal position when he has publicly advocated for the dismantling of the Federal Department of Education.
JC Bowman, Executive Director of Professional Educators of Tennessee said of Schwinn on Saturday night, “For those advocating for the dismantling of the US Department of Education, she may be the ideal candidate to facilitate that outcome.”
About the Author: Paula Gomes is a Tennessee resident and reporter for The Tennessee Conservative. You can reach Paula at paula@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
