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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.

Crystal Johnson, an AP English teacher affectionately known as Miss CJ, was recently named a 2023 Educator of Excellence.
Improvement in math tracks statewide trend, but proficiency rates lag behind pre-pandemic levels.
If the search process suggests board members aren’t on the same page, a leadership expert says, ‘some candidates may back away.’
Pioneer of school desegregation says resolving racial differences requires telling the truth about history — ‘good, bad, or ugly.’
The 28-year-old attacker was a former student and came to the school armed with rifles and a handgun.
Board’s academic committee considers ways to ease impact of reading law, including offering retests and eliminating time limits.
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’
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.”
The quest for education equity must be motivated by the reality that the workforce will rely heavily on people who aren’t white
Commissioner Miska Clay-Bibbs: ‘We’re really here to solve the issue of 1,800 kids who are about to be displaced’
The first of several votes to end dispute and clear the way for construction of a new high school
Supporters of Whitehaven High Principal Vincent Hunter sing his praises at community meeting
No disaster, says one expert, but ‘there will be some small effect on student learning’
Selection comes at a pivotal time, as the search for a new superintendent begins