Bill Lee goes out of state to find new Education Commissioner

NASHVILLE (WDEF) – Governor-elect Bill Lee has said he wants to build on the legacy of Governor Haslam in education.

But his choice for Education Commissioner may indicate a different path.

On Thursday, Lee announced that Penny Schwinn will lead the Tennessee Department of Education in his administration.

Schwinn is not from the Department.

She currently serves as chief deputy commissioner for the state of Texas.

And her resumee is all over the country.

She taught for Teach For America in Baltimore and Los Angeles and founded a charter school in Sacramento.

Schwinn replaces Candace McQueen, who came under fire for the student evaluation testing program.

The TNReady tests didn’t work for a lot of schools when they moved online.

The new administration will have the responsibility to pick a new software company to run the online tests, assuming they continue the tests.

Lee says “Penny leads with students at the forefront and I believe her experience is exactly what we need to continue improving on the gains we have made in the past few years.”

“As a former teacher and seasoned administrator, she will help make Tennessee a leader in the nation on education.”