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Tonyaa Weathersbee

Bureau Chief, Chalkbeat Tennessee

Tonyaa Weathersbee is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Before coming to Chalkbeat, she was the metro columnist for The Commercial Appeal, Memphis’ daily newspaper. Tonyaa is also a multiple-award winning journalist who spent much of her career as an opinion columnist and editorial board member for The Florida Times Union in Jacksonville, Fla. Her work has appeared on sites such as Black America Web, The Root, CNN, The Undefeated, The Bitter Southerner, The Marshall Project and Children & Nature News. She has published articles on her travels to Cuba, Haiti, Panama, Ecuador, Venezuela, Barbados, Grenada, Mexico, Canada, Jordan and Turkey. Tonyaa also holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a master’s degree in mass communication from the University of Florida, as well as a master’s certificate in Latin American Studies from UF. In 2020, Tonyaa was inducted into the UF CJC Hall of Fame - making her one of 165 graduates to receive that honor since the college created it in 1970.

New Memphis selected Crystal Johnson, an English teacher and spoken word artist, as one of five 2023 Educators of Excellence.
From Chalkbeat Tennessee How I Teach
This spoken word artist uses poetry to engage her Memphis students. It earned her honors.
Crystal Johnson, an AP English teacher affectionately known as Miss CJ, was recently named a 2023 Educator of Excellence.
By Tonyaa Weathersbee
 
The exterior of a two-story brick school building, with steps leading up to a doorway, viewed from across the street.
From Chalkbeat Tennessee School safety
Mold dislodges students from Memphis’ 114-year-old Peabody Elementary School
Building’s age has made cleanup more difficult, district officials said.
By Tonyaa Weathersbee
 
Two young students write on a poster board on the ground as an adult peers overhead to review their work.
From Chalkbeat Tennessee Assessment and testing
Memphis TCAP scores show modest gains, with English results stagnating
Improvement in math tracks statewide trend, but proficiency rates lag behind pre-pandemic levels.
By Laura Testino, Tonyaa Weathersbee, and 1 more
 
Three people standing outside a building. One has a sign that says “Be Accountable”; One has a megaphone. One is wearing a magenta shirt.
From Chalkbeat Tennessee Politics & Policy
Facing blowback, Memphis school board members agree to clarify policy on banning public commenters
Board hears from critics of district’s decision to bar five activists after May 9 meeting.
By Tonyaa Weathersbee
 
Two women and two men sit behind the dais for the Memphis-Shelby County Schools board
From Chalkbeat Tennessee Politics & Policy
With school board in disarray, can MSCS attract top superintendent prospects?
If the search process suggests board members aren’t on the same page, a leadership expert says, ‘some candidates may back away.’
By Tonyaa Weathersbee and Laura Testino
 
A woman seated at a table with stacks of books featuring an image of a child on the cover. A small child is behind the woman.
From Chalkbeat Tennessee Racial Justice
Civil rights icon Ruby Bridges on her life story being banned: ‘When they started targeting me, I couldn’t ignore it’
Pioneer of school desegregation says resolving racial differences requires telling the truth about history — ‘good, bad, or ugly.’
By Tonyaa Weathersbee
 
Police officers in uniform outside a school building, next to a tree.
From Chalkbeat Tennessee Gun Violence and Schools
Search for answers continues after shooter kills three children at Nashville private church school
The 28-year-old attacker was a former student and came to the school armed with rifles and a handgun.
By Marta W. Aldrich, Laura Testino, and 1 more
 
A display of colorful picture books, including some about Black history.
From Chalkbeat Tennessee Student & School Performance
More than 2,700 MSCS 3rd-graders face risk of being held back, district official says
Board’s academic committee considers ways to ease impact of reading law, including offering retests and eliminating time limits.
By Tonyaa Weathersbee
 
A logo bears the words “Memphis Shelby County Schools”
From Chalkbeat Tennessee Gun Violence and Schools
Memphis Shelby County Schools proposes $6.3 million in spending for security upgrades
A pair of contracts for new cameras, alarm systems, and wiring await board approval.
By Tonyaa Weathersbee
 
A logo bears the words “Memphis Shelby County Schools”
From Chalkbeat Tennessee Politics & Policy
New high school a step closer for displaced Germantown students as MSCS board backs Cordova land purchase
Some board members raise concerns about capacity: ‘If you build it, they will come.’
By Tonyaa Weathersbee
 
Ian Randolph, board treasurer for Circles of Success charter school, said he believes its unfair for third-graders traumatized by the pandemic to be traumatized by the stress of being retained.
From Chalkbeat Tennessee Assessment and testing
Third-grade retention law will intensify Memphis students’ pandemic woes, local critics say
More than three-quarters of third-graders could be held back, they warn.
By Tonyaa Weathersbee
 
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From Chalkbeat Tennessee Tackling racism
Q&A: For anti-bigotry group Facing History & Ourselves, Tyre Nichols’ death is another tragic teaching moment
Michele Phillips, a Memphis-based leader of the group, says ‘we’re sticking to our script’ on emphasizing lessons of history, but Tennessee law has had a ‘chilling effect’
By Tonyaa Weathersbee
 
A woman wearing glasses speaks while gesturing with her hands in front of a door covered in college pendant flags
From Chalkbeat Tennessee Politics & Policy
Memphis-Shelby County School board picks Hazard Young of Illinois to lead superintendent search
The firm has decades of experience, but its record has a few blemishes.
By Tonyaa Weathersbee
 
A sign to memorialize Tyre Nichols at a protest against police brutality on January 28, 2023 in Memphis.
From Chalkbeat Tennessee
Tyre Nichols’ killing has some Black teens seeing police as threats, not allies
A video showing Tyre Nichols being brutalized by police led at least one Black teen protester to say, “I feel unsafe with the police now.”
By Tonyaa Weathersbee
 
Michelle Robinson McKissack
From Chalkbeat Tennessee Campaigns and elections
Former MSCS board chair McKissack vies to become Memphis’ first woman mayor
Pledges to continue advocating for teachers and public schools
By Tonyaa Weathersbee
 
Tonyaa’s Weathersbee’s mother, Wallace Weathersbee, in her sixth-grade classroom.
From Chalkbeat Tennessee Inside Chalkbeat
My passion for education equity is informed by my past — and our future
The quest for education equity must be motivated by the reality that the workforce will rely heavily on people who aren’t white
By Tonyaa Weathersbee
 
A logo bears the words “Memphis Shelby County Schools”
From Chalkbeat Tennessee School safety
Delays in Cummings school library repairs will keep students at LaRose through end of the year
District seeks to avoid disruptions during standardized testing
By Tonyaa Weathersbee
 
A woman at a conference table with her hand slightly raised. Two men are visible in the background behind her.
From Chalkbeat Tennessee Politics & Policy
Businesspeople and students may get another chance to offer input on MSCS superintendent search
Advisory panel member cites concerns that process ‘feels rushed’
By Tonyaa Weathersbee
 
Camille Collins, who has spent her entire 25-year teaching career at Germantown High School, paints the school logo on her classroom wall. A new pact will allow GMSD, and not MSCS, to control its namesake schools.
From Chalkbeat Tennessee Politics & Policy
MSCS and Germantown school boards back ‘three G’s’ settlement, ending 10-year dispute
Nine-year transition means thousands of current students won’t be displaced
By Tonyaa Weathersbee and Samantha West
 
Shelby County government building in downtown Memphis.
From Chalkbeat Tennessee Politics & Policy
Shelby County Commission vote brings Germantown closer to controlling its elementary and middle schools
Commissioner Miska Clay-Bibbs: ‘We’re really here to solve the issue of 1,800 kids who are about to be displaced’
By Tonyaa Weathersbee
 
An empty bench, bearing the Germantown Middle School name, sits outside of a school building.
From Chalkbeat Tennessee Politics & Policy
Germantown moves a step closer to gaining control of elementary and middle school
The first of several votes to end dispute and clear the way for construction of a new high school
By Tonyaa Weathersbee
 
Darla D. Young-Berry, principal of Havenview Middle STEAM Optional School, said the new superintendent must grapple with a pressing issue: Students who struggle in traditional schools after transferring from charter schools.
From Chalkbeat Tennessee Politics & Policy
Amid MSCS’ national superintendent search, some in Whitehaven push for a local candidate
Supporters of Whitehaven High Principal Vincent Hunter sing his praises at community meeting
By Tonyaa Weathersbee
 
Medical staff work in the hallway of Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital in Tennessee.
From Chalkbeat Tennessee
Flu outbreak threatens more disruptions for Tennessee schools
No disaster, says one expert, but ‘there will be some small effect on student learning’
By Tonyaa Weathersbee
 
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From Chalkbeat Tennessee Leadership & Management
Cleared of wrongdoing, two top MSCS officials opt to leave their posts
One leader retires, another resigns after investigations into complaints
By Tonyaa Weathersbee
 
One man and four women sit behind a dais for the Memphis-Shelby County Schools board
From Chalkbeat Tennessee Shelby County Schools
MSCS board will launch national superintendent search this month
The board hopes to have someone in place by the end of the school year.
By Tonyaa Weathersbee
 
A woman, Shelby County Schools board member Althea Greene, is in a blue outfit seated behind a table and speaks during a hearing for Veritas College Preparatory, a charter school in South Memphis.
From Chalkbeat Tennessee
Memphis-Shelby County Schools board taps Althea Greene as chair
Selection comes at a pivotal time, as the search for a new superintendent begins
By Tonyaa Weathersbee