Rachel Wegner

A few weeks ago I had the honor of sitting down with staff and students at B.E. Academy for Girls. The private, nonprofit Nashville school is up for the prestigious $1 million Yass Prize.

Read more about the school's vision and see it all in action here. ⤵️

A few weeks ago I had the honor of sitting down with staff and students at B.E. Academy for Girls. The private, nonprofit Nashville school is up for the prestigious $1 million Yass Prize.

Read more about the school's vision and see it all in action here. ⤵️

A five-year-old boy with autism is facing assault charges after outbursts at his school. Here's what @evanmealins.bsky.social and I learned after digging into records, hearing from the boy's parents and getting perspective from police and an expert.
www.tennessean.com/story/news/e...

A five-year-old boy with autism is facing assault charges after outbursts at his school. Here's what @evanmealins.bsky.social and I learned after digging into records, hearing from the boy's parents and getting perspective from police and an expert.
www.tennessean.com/story/news/e...

An employee filed a lawsuit against Fayette County Schools. The next day, he was fired. • Tennessee Lookout The Fayette County Public Schools superintendent fired an employee the day after that worker and three others sued the district.

Four Fayette County Public Schools employees filed a lawsuit on Oct. 23 against the district’s school board, alleging a pattern of racial discrimination and retaliation against Black staffers.

The next day, the district’s superintendent fired one of them. From cstephenson@bsky.social.

My Saturday shift just so happened to land in the middle of College GameDay here in Nashville. I got to meet Tyler, the Vanderbilt sophomore who nailed a 33-yard kick (wearing socks!) and won $500K.

Some good news: Nashville is set to open a 24-7 emergency mental health facility that will be available free of charge to children ages 4-17.

I am delighted to celebrate this gem of a human being. She deserves every last one of her flowers, literally and figuratively. We love you, Miss Bev!

A lot of information about who's benefitting from Tennessee's new school voucher law isn't available, but @rachelannwegner.bsky.social has found many of the participating schools are religious and concentrated in populous counties: www.tennessean.com/story/news/e...

Nashville middle schoolers will soon walk through weapon detection scanners on their way into school. The move follows a rollout of scanners in district high schools after the deadly Antioch High shooting earlier this year.

Yesterday, a group wielding MAGA hats and signs that said things like "DEI should be illegal" was removed from campus at Tennessee State University, an HBCU in Nashville. The group appears to be inspired by Charlie Kirk.

Here's my story on what we know.

Dwayne Tucker was named as permanent president at Tennessee State University last month. He's taking the helm of the HBCU after years of leadership and financial upheaval. We sat down to talk about his story and his vision for TSU — and the sense of purpose that drew him back to his alma mater.

Pretty proud of this cross-newsroom collaborative reporting from: Kelly Puente on records of THP's immigration sweep on May 3-4, @angelelatham.bsky.social on the lack of transparency from THP, and myself, who built a map of the traffic stops + census demographics. www.tennessean.com/story/news/i...

Kilmar Abrego Garcia has been let out of jail.

Public comments got heated at last night's MNPS board meeting over a $6.5M lawsuit settlement going to five people who claim Director Adrienne Battle fired or demoted them out of retaliation. Officials maintained the district and Battle did nothing wrong.

This means more to me than you know! It was truly my honor to get to hear Cordaro and Jessica share this amazing story.

A TN teacher changed a struggling homeless boy's life. Decades later, TikTok reunited them Cordaro Cummings spent decades looking for the teacher who changed his life as a boy. A viral TikTok found her in a matter of days.

Need a heartwarming (and possibly tear-jerking) read? I got you covered.

After I watched this all unfold on TikTok, I tracked down the people behind it to hear more of their story.

A TN teacher changed a struggling homeless boy's life. Decades later, TikTok reunited them Cordaro Cummings spent decades looking for the teacher who changed his life as a boy. A viral TikTok found her in a matter of days.

Need a heartwarming (and possibly tear-jerking) read? I got you covered.

After I watched this all unfold on TikTok, I tracked down the people behind it to hear more of their story.

Big Beautiful Bill includes tax credit for school vouchers: Here's how much, how it works A new federal school voucher program means any Tennessean can get a tax credit for certain donations for scholarships. Here are the details.

Trump's Big Beautiful Bill Act paves the way for federal school vouchers to help families pay for private school. Tennessee intends to opt in to the program, which is set to start in 2027.

Here's a look at how it will work and who qualifies.

Trump administration to unfreeze $118M in Tennessee education funds. What to know After a monthlong delay, more than $118 million in federal K-12 funds will be released to Tennessee.

More than $118M in frozen federal funds for underserved children in Tennessee will start flowing again next week after a monthlong delay by the Trump administration.

The money is part of $6.2B previously passed by Congress and signed by Trump for K-12 schools nationwide.

Nashville schools nix DEI efforts to comply with new Tennessee law A new Tennessee law targeting DEI efforts drove policy changes for Nashville schools.

Metro Nashville Public Schools just rolled back its DEI policies to comply with a Tennessee's new "Dismantling DEI Act." Board members expressed frustration over it during a committee meeting yesterday.

"If not for state law, we would not be taking this action," Board Member Erin O'Hara Block said.

My coworker @angelelatham.bsky.social dug into the fascinating history of Scopes, hailed the trial of the century: www.tennessean.com/story/news/e...

I also unpacked the education debates still raging now with @zachschermele.bsky.social and Krista Johnson: www.tennessean.com/story/news/e...

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Trump tax bill supercharges Coast Guard’s Arctic icebreaker fleet USA TODAY National Correspondent Trevor Hughes breaks down a part of the recent tax bill that adds new ships to the Coast Guard's fleet in the Northwest Passage, and the broader context in that region...

I had the honor of talking about the anniversary of the Scopes Monkey Trial on today's episode of The Excerpt. The trial kicked off in a small town in Tennessee 100 years ago today, starting what some say was the country's first culture war.

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58% of Tennessee third graders failed 2025 state reading test More than half of Tennessee's public school third graders fell short of the state's reading benchmark on this year's TCAP test.

More than half of third graders in Tennessee's public schools fell short of a reading benchmark on this year's standardized test. That set off a fast-moving timeline for them to avoid being held back under the state's controversial reading law.

58% of Tennessee third graders failed 2025 state reading test More than half of Tennessee's public school third graders fell short of the state's reading benchmark on this year's TCAP test.

More than half of third graders in Tennessee's public schools fell short of a reading benchmark on this year's standardized test. That set off a fast-moving timeline for them to avoid being held back under the state's controversial reading law.

Trump bill is 'devastating' for Tennessee children and families, advocates say Tennessee advocates say deep cuts to key programs in the bill will harm children and families statewide.

Advocates say Trump's sprawling tax and spending bill that just passed will have "devastating" effects on children, low-income families and other vulnerable people in Tennessee.

While the full impact is still uncertain, here's a look at what we know.

Trump Tells States He's Holding Back $6.8 Billion for Schools Schools nationwide won't see almost $6.8 billion in funding for English learners, migrant students, professional development, and more.

Just published: The Trump administration is holding back $6.5 billion in funding for K-12 schools that the law says must flow to states tomorrow.

It's not clear when, or if, the money will be released. www.edweek.org/policy-polit...

Tennessee education laws taking effect July 1: Cell phone bans, school threat felony, more Education was a focal point of the Tennessee legislative session in 2025. Here are a few laws that came out of it.

Three key education laws will take effect in Tennessee tomorrow. Here's a look at what they entail, along with a look back at other major education bills that made it across the finish line after yet another contentious session earlier this year.

Old Dominion frontman presents $50K to save J.T. Moore Middle School band: ‘Game changer’ As the J.T. Moore Middle School band faced being cut, the community rallied to save the program, including Old Dominion singer Matthew Ramsey.

A bit of wholesome news to cleanse your timeline: The community has rallied around a Nashville middle school band that was slated to be cut. Today, their effort got a $50,000 boost from Old Dominion frontman Matthew Ramsey.

'An American holiday': Nashville celebrates Juneteenth with music, dance and more From African dance troupes to musical performances, Nashville joined the nation in celebrating Juneteenth.

I had the honor of stopping into a few Juneteenth celebrations around Nashville today. Here's a look at what I saw, heard and learned.