Penny Schwinn is an American educator and current Commissioner of Education for the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

. She was appointed by

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Bill Lee on January 17, 2019, and was sworn in on February 1, 2019.

Early life and education

Schwinn was born and raised in

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

. Her mother was an educator for low-income students in Sacramento for nearly 40 years. Many of her extended family are also educators. Prior to graduating high school, she went on to receive her Bachelor of Arts from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

, then Master of Arts in Teaching from

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...

, and her PhD in Education Policy from Claremont Graduate University.

Career

Schwinn began her career in education as a high school history and economics teacher in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. She also has been involved in education in

South Los Angeles South Los Angeles, also known as South Central Los Angeles or simply South Central, is a region in southwestern Los Angeles County, lying mostly within the city limits of Los Angeles, south of downtown. It is "defined on Los Angeles city maps as a ...

and has worked in the private sector. She then served on the board of education for

Sacramento County, California Sacramento County () is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 1,585,055. Its county seat is Sacramento, California, Sacramento, which has been the List of capital ...

. Prior to being a principal and board member, she served as the Assistant Secretary of

Education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

. She later served as the Deputy Commissioner of Standards and Engagement, Deputy Commissioner of Special Populations and Monitoring, and Chief Deputy Commissioner of Academics at the

Texas Education Agency The Texas Education Agency (TEA) is the branch of the government of Texas responsible for public education in Texas in the United States.

. In 2019, she left the agency, after being appointed by Governor Bill Lee to become the next Commissioner of the

Tennessee Department of Education The Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) is the state education agency of Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-larges ...

. She was sworn in on February 1, 2019.

Personal life

Schwinn is married to Paul Schwinn, who is also an educator and has worked with multiple educational institutions and advocacy groups. She has three children, two of whom are students in Tennessee public schools.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schwinn, Penny Living people Educators from Tennessee State constitutional officers of Tennessee UC Berkeley College of Letters and Science alumni Johns Hopkins University alumni Claremont Graduate University alumni 1982 births