Author: Vesia Hawkins

Extremely passionate about education choices, fairness, and good football.
Accountability, School Choice, Tennessee

Schooling In America: While Some Scream Against Choice, More Quietly Choose

What do you think about our public schools? The answer to that could vary widely depending on whether you’re a parent, a teacher, or a taxpayer without a personal connection to the public education system. A new report by EdChoice shines some light on parent and teacher attitudes about the direction of the K-12 education, accountability, and choice programs. In Schooling in America, the most … Continue reading Schooling In America: While Some Scream Against Choice, More Quietly Choose

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Accountability, Nashville, School Choice

Why Is It So Hard For Families To Get The Respect They Deserve?

“We build relationship systems.” — Mia Howard, founder and CEO of Intrepid Schools in Antioch, TN. Last year, I had the pleasure of visiting Intrepid Schools, a Tennessee Reward school (top five percent) and charter school. The interview with the school’s fearless leader Mia Howard has been on my mind as of late because of what she listed as Intrepid’s secret to success. Relationships and … Continue reading Why Is It So Hard For Families To Get The Respect They Deserve?

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Accountability, Nashville

A Look Back At The Nashville School Board, Same As Today

A controversial and expensive decision affecting thousands of students. A contentious director of schools. A divided and belligerent school board. Racial tensions. Tens of thousands of students in struggling schools in a district ready for state takeover. The year was 2007. Fast forward eleven years to a near-identical situation, only the players have changed. Playing Director of Schools was Dr. Pedro Garcia surrounded by 4 … Continue reading A Look Back At The Nashville School Board, Same As Today

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Accountability, Tennessee

Will Shelby County Schools Leader Be Tennessee’s Next Commissioner of Education?

UPDATE: It has been reported that Hopson is leaving the district for a corporate gig – presumably to practice law. I’m an unreliable source for unsubstantiated information, so if you’re looking for gossip I’m typically not your girl. But today I’m dying to dish on the circumstances surrounding an announcement coming out of Memphis, TN. Remember when Shelby County Schools (SCS) superintendent Dorsey Hopson out … Continue reading Will Shelby County Schools Leader Be Tennessee’s Next Commissioner of Education?

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Accountability, School Choice, Tennessee

Governor-Elect Lee: Let These 4 Things Guide Your Education Decisions

Dear Governor-Elect Lee: This will be short and sweet. As a political newcomer, it’s possible you are only peripherally familiar with the battles in and around education. The bloodiest of them are not found in the area of your residence, Williamson County, one of the wealthiest counties in the nation with the second highest performing school district in the state. Further, you may not be … Continue reading Governor-Elect Lee: Let These 4 Things Guide Your Education Decisions

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Nashville, School Choice, Tennessee

Nashville Charter School Leaders: #WhyWeCollaborate

Not even this morning’s torrential downpour can dampen my mood. Before reaching (clamoring) for my first cup of coffee I checked my email. To my surprise, the first email is from a group of Nashville charter leaders letting us know they’ve been meeting on the down low for months and now they’re a thing. Charter leaders from the city’s highest performing schools representing more than … Continue reading Nashville Charter School Leaders: #WhyWeCollaborate

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Black Community, Nashville

WARNING: The Most Terrifying Of All Halloween Tales

There is zero entertainment value where fear is the intended outcome. I can think of no reason to celebrate being scared out of my mind. What’s so cool about the post-mortem condition that an entire holiday was created in its honor? Creepy ain’t cool.  For this reason, I don’t do Halloween. But these days we don’t need a special day of pretending in order to … Continue reading WARNING: The Most Terrifying Of All Halloween Tales

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