President-elect Trump appoints Penny Schwinn as United States Deputy Secretary of Education

Overview:

President-elect Trump appointed Penny Schwinn as the next United States Deputy Secretary of Education.

President-elect Trump appointed Penny Schwinn as the next United States Deputy Secretary of Education. Schwinn previously served as the Tennessee Department of Education Commissioner and vice President for PK-12 and pre-bachelor programs at the University of Florida and the Texas Education Agency.

On late Friday, Trump announced the pick on Truth Social but initially misspelled Schwinn’s first name as “Peggy.” The spelling was corrected Saturday morning.

“Penny has a strong record of delivering results for children and families,” Trump wrote. “A former teacher herself, Penny became the founding principal of a charter school, because she believes in the power of School Choice, and is committed to delivering the American Dream to the next Generation by returning Education BACK TO THE STATES.”

Schwinn has held various positions throughout her career, including Deputy Commissioner of Standards and Engagement, Deputy Commissioner of Special Populations and Monitoring, and Chief Deputy Commissioner of Academics. Additionally, she served as the Assistant Secretary of Education for Delaware.

Dr. Schwinn, an educator who started her career with Teach For America in Baltimore, holds an undergraduate degree from UC Berkeley, a Master’s from Johns Hopkins University, and a PhD from Claremont. She also holds certificates from Harvard Business School and the University of Southern California, as well as her teaching credential, administrative credential, and SHRM.

During her time in Texas and Tennessee, Dr. Schwinn worked to restructure the $75 million plus student assessment and accountability systems in both Texas and Tennessee to maximize student performance. As commissioner, she led the design of policy, budget, strategy, and performance management structures to secure recurring and one-time investments in K-12 education in the history of the state of Tennessee. Further, she led state initiatives for learning recovery after COVID, launching an in-state tutoring effort in the country, permanent summer programming for PK-9th grade students, and universal access to Advanced Placement courses for any high school student in the state.

In addition to her role as TN Education Commissioner, Schwinn served as the Chief Deputy Commissioner of Education for the state of Texas, where she was responsible for the oversight of over $1 billion in federal and state programmatic funding, increased family access and viewership of student achievement outcomes by over 1,000%; directed a 300% expansion in statewide externships and pathway development; and oversaw an increase in the number of low-income 4-year-olds with access to high-quality Pre-K programming.

As the Assistant Secretary of Education in Delaware, she oversaw a redesign of the state’s accountability system and a statewide performance management system that focused on student outcomes. Her work as a large district assistant superintendent, charter school founder, executive director, and teacher has also contributed to her detailed knowledge of school systems serving diverse learners.

Dr. Schwinn has three children.