Cooking the Books
🔥 The teacher who gave MNPS an F · Flock is flying into a privacy problem · Woke mind virus comes for the local raccoon · Much more!
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The teacher who gave MNPS an F: Teacher of the Year resigns, says MNPS pressures teachers to skew data.
From Megan Podsiedlik
Over the years, Metro Nashville Public Schools has struggled to retain some of its best teachers. Samira Hardcastle may have shed a little more light on why when offering a candid account of her experience teaching at MNPS during yesterday’s Board of Education meeting.
Hardcastle, an MNPS art teacher, submitted her resignation in May following a banner year in which she was named Teacher of the Year at John F. Kennedy Middle School in Antioch and Blue Ribbon Teacher of the Year for the entire district.
One Helluva Exit Interview Hardcastle’s reasons for leaving are striking, including allegations that district leaders pressured her to falsify grades, failed to protect teachers from harassment, and withheld money from teacher paychecks. She also pushed back on claims that behavioral problems are declining, alleging that teachers are being discouraged from documenting disruptions, and argued that MNPS is failing students academically.
“I've heard a lot of positive data in this meeting, and I just wanted to give you some facts from my firsthand experience,” said Hardcastle. “So first, district leaders asked me to fabricate grades for a parent who sat in the office for hours until her daughter's failing grades were changed. It creates false entitlement. What happens when these kids lie, cheat, and cry their way through school and end up as future doctors, police, or politicians?”
When Things Don’t Add Up Hardcastle also accused MNPS of falsely congratulating itself for closing the teacher vacancy gap and touting other milestones.
“I want the public to know that many of those are filled with uncertified teachers,” she said before disputing MNPS’ progress over the last few years. “The news reports that behavioral issues are down. They are not. We are simply banned from recording them, forcing us to keep disruptive students in the classroom. Statistics are being skewed to protect the district, not our children.”
Hardcastle was promptly cut off when her allotted time for public comment ran out. The board did not address any of her claims.
✹ WHITEPILLED
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LOCAL COLOR
📹 Flying from Flock? Of interest to readers, the Nashville Banner published a look at how sentiments around license plate readers have changed over the past year. From a technology that 8 in 10 Nashvillians supported, to one in which elected officials as diverse as GOP Sen. Majority leader Jack Johnson, Democratic state senator Heidi Campbell, Republican Knox County mayor Glenn Jacobs, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerri Green, and Republican congressional Rep. Tim Burchett have all issued negative or wish-washy statements about the tech citing privacy concerns.
The scrutiny of LPRs, and in particular the company Flock, comes at a time when crime rates are lower than they've ever been. Nationally acclaimed crime analyst Jeff Asher wrote earlier this week about how the 2026 murder rate will be, by far, the lowest ever recorded. Concerns about Flock's aggregation of data across all of their cameras into one big massive database drive most of the negative sentiment.
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🦡 Woke Mind Virus Comes for Local Raccoon The Middle Tennessee chapter of Democratic Socials for America is changing their mascot. Since 2019, the local DSA chapter has adorned their materials with a raccoon mascot. But an email sent out to members of the chapter last week reveals that the DSA raccoon is getting the Stalin treatment.
The organization decided that because of the furry animals proximity to the word "coon," which has historically been deployed as a racial epithet for black people, they need to collectively decide on a new mascot, noting that it's "not appropriate for a multiracial organization to use a raccoon as a logo."
"Some may see it as a cute animal on a red t-shirt and think nothing of it," reads the email, "however, the historical context surrounding the usage of the “coon” caricature as an anti-Black trope meant to dehumanize an entire population renders it entirely unacceptable."
Forward, Comrades!
✹ PROPERTY TAX CALCULATOR
What Moved Your Bill? Use our handy new tool to see what contributed to your property tax bill increase: the reappraisal or the rate hike. (Try It Out)
HEADLINES
- 🐅 DC Blox sues Metro over data center regulations. DC Blox has filed a federal lawsuit against Metro Nashville, arguing that the city improperly changed the rules after the company had already received approval to pursue its proposed data center near the Nashville Zoo. The company is asking the court to overturn the moratorium and require Metro to resume processing its permits, saying the new restrictions unfairly target its project. (Banner)
- 🚦 Right on red rewrite. Metro Councilmember Sandra Sepulveda is scaling back her proposed right-turn-on-red ban, shifting from a citywide ban within the urban services district to a more targeted approach. The amended proposal would prohibit right turns on red in downtown, school zones, and Tier 1 transit corridors, with the legislation set for consideration next week. (Axios)
- 🧊 ICE call center planned for Adams, TN. Federal contract documents reveal plans for a 24-hour ICE call center in Adams, Tennessee, with a contract worth up to $63 million awarded to Koniag Government Services. The center is intended to support local law enforcement and ICE operations, including helping agencies locate and identify people in federal immigration cases. (Lookout)
- 🩺 Nashville company named America’s fastest-growing Nashville-based Main Street Health was named the fastest-growing private company in America by Inc., reporting 546,533 percent growth over three years. The company partners with small-town clinics to provide health navigators who help Medicare patients coordinate care, with the company earning revenue by sharing in savings generated for insurers. (Inc.)
✹ METRO COUNCIL WATCH
New Council Watch Features We've added additional features to Council Watch. In addition to who's funding your council member, you can now see how they vote and who they vote with most frequently. (Take a Look)
DEVELOPMENT
- DJ, producer Kygo partners with Nashville developer on Broadway rooftop (Tennessean)
- ATL firm, Two Capital Partners, will build 280 apartments in Madison (NBJ)
- Commercial building in The Nations sells for $6M (Post)
- Tesla Cybercabs make Nashville appearance (Post)
- Jefferson Street property offered for sale (Post)
THINGS TO DO
View our calendar for the week here.
📅 Visit our On The Radar list to find upcoming events around Nashville.
🎧 On Spotify: Pamphleteer's Picks, a playlist of our favorite bands in town this week.
👨🏻🌾 Check out our Nashville farmer's market guide.
TONIGHT
🎸 Latter w/ Waxed, Dan Spencer, and Yammer Jaw @ DRKMTTR, 8p, $15, Info
🎸 American Football @ Marathon Music Works, 7p, $35.50, Info
+ midwest emo
🪕 Oliver Sayani & Timbo @ The Basement, 7p, $12.85, Info
✨ St. Lucia @ Brooklyn Bowl Nashville, 8p, $34+, Info
+ indie synth-pop
💀 Tennessee Dead @ Tennessee Brew Works, 6p, Info
🎸 Kelley's Heroes @ Robert's Western World, 6:30p, Free, Info
🎸 The Cowpokes @ Robert's Western World, 10:30p, Free, Info
🪕 Bluegrass Night @ The American Legion Post 82, 7p, Free, Info
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Today's newsletter is brought to you by Davis Hunt, Megan Podsiedlik, and Camelia Brennan.