Okay, I am late to the party on this one, but glad to discover and report that Megan Barry was elected Mayor of Nashville in mid-September. Her opponent, David Fox, was a former hedge funder who favored charter schools. Barry is not only Nashville’s first female mayor, but also a Democrat and a progressive in a state where Democrats have been struggling to win elections.
Since Tennessee has been one of the Race to the Top’s poster children, it will be interesting to see what happens with Megan Barry as Mayor. The failed Achievement School District has thus far concentrated on Memphis, but has expanded into Nashville.
Keep your eye on Tennessee. And on Megan Barry.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Good to hear! Still waiting for the new platform to be: I am pro public schools!
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Good news and the way to do it. The OP used this ‘genius’ strategy to win the states. To take them back, we need to do this…glad to see women doing it.
Watch this Rachel Maddow video as a learning experience…. and see what a victory like this , at the edges, does!
Trust me… this IS wonderful and SMART, and WE can do this too… if we parents and teachers work together to end this war on our public institution which we call SCHOOLS.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiAq9sIvTJE#t=119
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Howard Dean had a 50 state strategy that was very similar to this when he was elected DNC chair in . He wanted to pump party money building the Democratic base in every state & flip house races & Senate seats to Democrats. He wanted to build a strong party apparatus in every state, including the South. Rahm Emmanuel & the DNC shut him down. They wanted money spent for Presidential elections & traditional Democratic Congressional races.
In the meantime the Republicans put their 50 state strategy into play. Democratic state parties shrunk as the R’s grew.
It’s time for the Dems to re-boot & support real progressives left out in the cold.
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Good for her! I hope she’s a fighter because the charter cabal will be ready to rumble. They’re not going to want to have a “little gal” stand between them and their profits.
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Megan Barry is a dream come true … someone who holds the welfare of citizenry, particularly our children, in her sight 24-7. She is the real deal. A progressive who knows how to forge coalitions and build relationships leading to the public good. She will lead Nashville with great distinction. Cities elsewhere would be fortunate to be blessed with in-kind leadership.
Avi Poster
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“Okay, I am late to the party on this one…”
It’s not a party ’til you arrive, Diane!
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I am glad this person won the mayoralty, but I won’t hold my breath, since nearly all GOPs and Democrats have turend against public education. We need a true third party candidate in every level of governemnt
Still, Megan Barry should be given the opportunity to prove herself otherwise.
I solicit Ms. Barry to contact me and really ask quesitons about what it means to teach and learn in a public school with low income children. Wise leaders listen to people who have expertise, and she should be tapping on a large, wide and diverse body of educators as a core of her governance. . . .
Ms. Barry, if you are reading this, I have taught for 22 years, and am a NBCT. Please contact me at artwork88@aol.com or have one of your represtnatives contact me for further dialogue about what we need in public education today and why.
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Cx:
turned
government.
questions
representatives
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Well, she sounds very promising: “Barry accused Fox of wanting to convert Nashville’s public education system into a system of privately-run charter schools.” This is from http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/2015/08/12/megan-barry-david-fox-divided-sharply-over-public-education/31485771/
She doesn’t say anything about TCAP and other testing and teacher evaluations. On the other hand, she seems to be for a democratic process to select school board and such.
http://wkrn.com/2015/08/27/megan-barry-talks-education-ahead-of-runoff-election/
I think she is exactly what the doctor ordered for Nashville, and we can hope, she’ll infect the rest of our state.
Memphis, unfortunately, is a different game altogether.
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