On the Fly presented by The TN Firefly

The Tennessee Firefly
  • 5.0 (2)
  • EDUCATION
  • UPDATED BIMONTHLY

On the Fly is the podcast of the Tennessee Firefly, taking listeners further into the education stories we cover.

  1. On the Fly: Preview of the 2026 Legislative Session

    1D AGO

    On the Fly: Preview of the 2026 Legislative Session

    Tennesseans for Student Success Assistant Director of Government Relations Steven Bergman previews the upcoming legislative session that begins Tuesday at noon.

    15 min
  2. On the Fly: House Speaker Cameron Sexton Proposes Removing Bachelor’s Degree Requirement for Some Teachers

    11/06/2025

    On the Fly: House Speaker Cameron Sexton Proposes Removing Bachelor’s Degree Requirement for Some Teachers

    Speaker Sexton plans to propose an associate’s degree program next year for future kindergarten through sixth grade teachers.  In this episode of On the Fly, he explains how the program will work and why he believes it can address Tennessee's teacher shortage without lowering teaching standards.

    11 min
  3. On the Fly: New Charter Schools Approved for Madison and Rutherford Counties

    10/20/2025

    On the Fly: New Charter Schools Approved for Madison and Rutherford Counties

    The Tennessee Public Charter School Commission overturned two local school board decisions on October 16th by approving new public charter schools for Madison and Rutherford Counties.  The Jackson Museum School will take learning beyond the classroom by infusing subjects like science and math into weekly expeditions to local cultural centers. Rocketship TN #4 will be Rocketship Public Schools' fourth charter school in Tennessee, operating with a similar personalized learning model that the charter operator's Nashville schools utilize. On this episode of On the Fly we talk with leaders of both about why their schools are needed and what makes them different.

    14 min
  4. Congressman John Rose Discusses His Run for Governor

    09/04/2025

    Congressman John Rose Discusses His Run for Governor

    U.S. Congressman John Rose discusses why he decided to run for governor in 2026, along with his views on the Education Freedom Scholarship, career and technical education (CTE), public charter schools, and how he'd handle the additional authority President Donald Trump hopes to provide states for education.

    28 min

  5. 08/06/2025

    On the Fly: The Tennessee Nature Academy

    The Tennessee Nature Academy is starting its third year this week in Nashville. The public charter school offers students a nature-based education model that founder Jay Renfro says includes what he calls risky (not dangerous) play. The school recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for its new location that will open on 23 acres of donated land in Cane Ridge next year. We spoke with Renfo following the ceremony along with a mother and student who who moved to Tennessee to attend the academy.

    9 min
  6. On the Fly: Novus SMART Founder Jeremy Sager

    07/24/2025

    On the Fly: Novus SMART Founder Jeremy Sager

    Educator Jeremy Sager has helped students in Memphis and Nashville achieve success. He believes the ‘Two-Educator Model’ of his proposed public charter school Novus SMART Academy (K-8) could do even more in Rutherford County if the Board of Education approves it Thursday.

    7 min
  7. On the Fly: Representative Mark White Weighs in on New Legislation to Study Testing

    05/05/2025

    On the Fly: Representative Mark White Weighs in on New Legislation to Study Testing

    House Education Chair Mark White, R-Memphis, discusses new legislation that will create a ten-member advisory committee appointed by state leaders to study the state’s testing and teacher evaluation systems, the academic requirements for career and technical education (CTE) students, whether schools should have a minimum number of required instructional hours, and the licensure requirements for teachers. That committee would begin meeting later this year and issue a report by the end of December.

    14 min
  8. On the Fly: Lawmakers Debate Legislation that Prevents Counties from Switching to a Caucus for Local Races

    04/21/2025

    On the Fly: Lawmakers Debate Legislation that Prevents Counties from Switching to a Caucus for Local Races

    A bill that prevents Tennessee counties from switching from a primary to a caucus or convention for local partisan elections passed the State House last week and now heads to Governor Bill Lee's desk, despite opposition from Republican Party leaders. We take a closer look at the debate, with comments from both supporters and opponents.

    9 min
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About

On the Fly is the podcast of the Tennessee Firefly, taking listeners further into the education stories we cover.

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