The top education official in Tennessee, Commissioner Penny Schwinn, will leave her position at the end of the school year later this month following four years with the department, Gov. Bill Lee announced on Monday.
In an interview with “The 74,” a news organization that covers America’s education system, Schwinn said she had grown tired of the distracting culture war battles over race and gender in the classroom.
“I see it as extraneous politics and my job is to educate kids,” she told the outlet. “I knew that my charge, first and foremost, was to move our state forward.”
Schwinn led the department through COVID-19 school closures and moves to online learning during that time, leading to criticism from both sides of the aisle for the Republican-appointed commissioner. She also led the department through its implementation of education savings accounts for students in Shelby and Davison Counties, which includes Memphis and Nashville….