Penny Schwinn | |
---|---|
Education Commissioner of Tennessee | |
In office February 1, 2019 –July 1, 2023 | |
Governor | Bill Lee |
Preceded by | Candice McQueen Lyle Alishie (acting) |
Succeeded by | Lizzette Reynolds |
Personal details | |
Born | 1982 (age 42–43) Sacramento,California |
Spouse | Paul Schwinn |
Education | |
Penny Schwinn (born 1982) is an American educator who served as Education Commissioner of Tennessee from 2019 to 2023.
Schwinn was appointed by Governor Bill Lee on January 17, 2019, [1] and was sworn in on February 1, 2019. [2] In May 2023, Schwinn resigned to work for the University of Florida. [3] In January 2025, she was nominated by President-elect Donald Trump to serve as the United States Deputy Secretary of Education. On July 31, 2025, Secretary Linda McMahon announced that Schwinn's candidacy for Deputy Secretary had been withdrawn. [4]
Schwinn was born and raised in Sacramento, California. Her mother was an educator for low-income students in Sacramento for nearly 40 years. Many of her extended family are also educators. [5] After graduating high school, she went on to receive her Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Berkeley, then Master of Arts in Teaching from Johns Hopkins University, and her PhD in Education Policy from Claremont Graduate University. [6]
Schwinn began her career in education as a high school history and economics teacher in Baltimore, Maryland. She also has been involved in education in South Los Angeles and has worked in the private sector. She then served on the board of education for Sacramento County, California. [7] After being a principal and board member, she served as the Assistant Secretary of Education of Delaware. 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. In 2019, she left the agency, after being appointed by Governor Bill Lee to become the next Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Education. [6] She was sworn in on February 1, 2019.
On May 1, 2023, Schwinn announced she would be stepping down as Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Education on June 1, 2023. She was succeeded by Lizzette Gonzalez Reynolds on July 1, 2023. [8]
She went on to work for Ben Sasse at the University of Florida where she created outrage among parents, teachers, students and alumni when she proposed to remove a lottery system from P.K. Yonge school which was seen as an attack on the diverse student population. [9] She was then terminated from the role in less than a year. [10]
On January 17 2025, President-elect Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that he had picked Peggy Schwinn [11] to be his Deputy Secretary of Education. [12] After her nomination, Penny Schwinn launched a new business in Florida before being confirmed. When the 74Million looked into the matter, she quickly put her sister's name as the owner. [13] On July 31, 2025, Secretary Linda McMahon announced that Schwinn's candidacy had been withdrawn. [14]
Schwinn is married to Paul Schwinn, who is also an educator and has worked with multiple educational institutions and advocacy groups. [5] She has three children, two of whom are students in Tennessee public schools. [2]