Tennessee's embrace of conservative Michigan college sours
Source: Associated Press
Tennessee’s embrace of conservative Michigan college sours
By KIMBERLEE KRUESI
July 30, 2022
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The president of Michigan’s Hillsdale College was riding high earlier this year when he announced plans to launch 50 charter schools in Tennessee after Gov. Bill Lee originally asked for 100.
Six months later, that relationship has cooled after Hillsdale’s Larry Arnn made disparaging comments about educators, telling an audience including Lee that teachers “are trained in the dumbest parts of the dumbest colleges.”
The comments inspired outrage among lawmakers, teachers and other public school advocates already skeptical of the plans. Now the Republican governor — long known as a charter school and voucher advocate — has distanced himself from Arnn, leaving the fate of charters connected to the small, conservative college in doubt.
Since Arnn’s comments, three Hillsdale-affiliated charter school applications in Tennessee have been rejected by school boards in Jackson-Madison, Clarksville-Montgomery and Rutherford counties. A spokesperson for Hillsdale College declined to comment on the rejected applications and did not respond to a request to interview Arnn.
It’s unknown when or if the additional 47 charter schools promised will ever materialize. ...
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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/education-michigan-tennessee-school-boards-charter-schools-a2b74cf802f8256e2227497fe27ddde0
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The president of a college saying teachers “are trained in the dumbest parts of the dumbest colleges.”
