GERMANTOWN, Tenn. — Penny Schwinn, the Tennessee Commissioner of Education, visited two schools in Germantown on Wednesday.
Schwinn walked the halls of Houston Middle School, as some students are back in class while others are learning remotely. She said she wanted a first-hand experience to see how students are navigating this unprecedented school year, amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
“It’s really important for me to be able to see this because the first thing that we want kids back in school and learning,” Schwinn said. “We want to know what it’s like. What are the successes, and what are the challenges? And what can we do as a state to continue to support our districts.”
While Schwinn was is in the Mid-South, she made a stop at Frayser-area schools. In addition to visiting schools, she made a big announcement. Tennessee will now begin sharing data of COVID-19 cases in schools across the state. But she said the Gov. Bill Lee will provide more information on Thursday.
“So, we’re excited to provide an update tomorrow (at) the governor’s press conference, and I think he’s gonna have a lot to say then,” Schwinn said. “He’s gonna have an update on the things that he wants to share (at) the press conference tomorrow.”
This announcement comes as the governor has gone back and forth on if the schools could do so. But Schwinn said it is imperative to be as transparent as possible.
“I think it’s really important that we share information, and that’s everything from student achievement the impact of having six months away from school buildings to make sure that we are monitoring and supporting our districts to know how kids are doing so we can accelerate achievement in the state,” Schwinn said.
Schwinn herself has been on the hot seat with talk of a no-confidence vote looming from the Tennessee legislature after several of her education moves have been questioned. She said she is just focused on visiting as many schools as possible making sure she shows students and teachers alike that she supports them.
“We’re gonna keep going,” Schwinn said. “I’ll be in schools every week for the foreseeable future hopefully, the rest of the school year, I want to make sure I’m staying as close to classrooms as possible. Being with kids, being teachers, being with great superintendents, like the one here so that I can see how our kids are doing and make sure we’re investing in the right places.”
On her visit, Schwinn got a chance to see how students were adjusting to school learning during the pandemic. She said she was very pleased to see the students being six feet apart and practicing all of the safety guidelines to mitigate the coronavirus.
