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Penny Schwinn, a former teacher, charter school founder, and state commissioner of education, has been named by President-elect Donald Trump as his pick for deputy secretary of education at the U.S. Department of Education.
Schwinn, a strong supporter of school choice, would serve as the No. 2 official in the agency, working under Linda McMahon, Trump’s choice for the top job at the Education Department. Schwinn’s extensive experience in K-12 stands in contrast to that of McMahon, a wealthy business executive who founded and served as CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment.
Trump announced his choice of Schwinn on Truth Social late Jan. 17, originally referring to her as Peggy Schwinn. The post was updated to correct her name.
“Penny has a strong record of delivering results for children and families,” Trump wrote. “A former teacher herself, Penny became the founding principal of a charter school, because she believes in the power of School Choice, and is committed to delivering the American Dream to the next Generation by returning Education BACK TO THE STATES.”
Trump’s agenda for K-12 has centered on a pledge to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education and expand private school choice.
Penny Schwinn has extensive experience in K-12 education
Schwinn, who served as Tennessee’s schools chief under Republican Gov. Bill Lee from 2019-2023, started her K-12 career as a Teach For America teacher in Baltimore before later moving into education leadership positions in several states. She served in senior roles in the Delaware education department as well as the Texas Education Agency before Lee appointed her as his education commissioner. She had mostly recently worked at the University of Florida.
Developing a stronger pipeline of teachers and shifting the state’s elementary teachers to an evidence-based approach to teaching literacy were among Schwinn’s top priorities during her tenure as Tennessee’s schools chief. She oversaw its effort to be the first state to establish a federally registered teacher apprenticeship program.
But as the top education official, she was also responsible for implementing the state law that set limitations on discussions and lessons about race and racism in public schools. She took heat from progressives and conservatives, including a complaint from a local Moms for Liberty chapter who accused Schwinn of dodging their complaint about one school district’s use of the children’s book “Ruby Bridges Goes to School: My True Story,” the autobiography that recounts Bridges’ experience as the first Black student to desegregate an all-white school in New Orleans.
In a 2023 interview with Rick Hess, the director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute and an Opinion blogger for Education Week, Schwinn said a lack of civility and common decency over divisive culture issues influenced her decision to step down.
In the same interview, Schwinn also told Hess that she wasn’t surprised by the surge in enthusiasm for school choice, but passing laws to expand it were just a first step to ensuring access and quality.
“For school choice to work, there needs to be understandable, accurate, and accessible information for parents,” Schwinn said. “It requires exceptional customer service for families and tooling that streamlines the process. Fiscal accountability needs to be clear and enforced. Well-defined benchmarks for quality and outcomes must be publicly stated and honestly reported. Whether you are someone who advocates for choice for choice’s sake or for choice specifically to ensure better opportunities for students and families, the surest way to see the work fail is to believe that passing the law is the finish line.”
Trump also announced the selection of Eric Bledsoe to serve as a special assistant to the president for domestic policy, focusing primarily on education. Previously, Bledsoe was a senior director of civics at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, and an instructor at Florida State University.