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Resident criticizes public schools, cites Tennessee Achieves figure and calls for local control
Summary
Deborah Gleason, a Fourth District resident, criticized the public school system, repeated a claim that Tennessee Achieves raised a graduation rate to 43%, and urged restored local control of schools.
Deborah Gleason, who identified herself as a Fourth District resident, used her five minutes of public comment to criticize the current public school system and to call for restoring local control. She said a representative previously told the commission that "Tennessee Achieves have increased their graduation rate to 43%."
Gleason described herself as "not a proponent of the public school system that we have today" and said the systemdeclined starting in the 1980s, with increasing state and federal control. She told commissioners she had spoken with teachers and administrators who told her they were frustrated with mandated testing and curriculum.
She also said, "according to the TCAP scoring, our children in Bradley County graduate with a 39.2 comprehension in all subjects," and criticized what she called lowered university admissions standards and classroom changes compared with earlier decades. Gleason urged parents and educators to "take back our schools" and said, "May we become adamant about tearing down the government control and regain our autonomy for our local schools for the future of our children and the future of our country."
Her remarks referenced a prior commission meeting on Sept. 22 where she previously raised related concerns. The commission did not respond on the record during the public-comment period recorded in the transcript.
