The Tennessee Public Charter School Commission ended this year’s charter appeal cycle with another key vote to approve a high-quality public charter school in Nashville.
The Tennessee Nature Academy applied to Metro Nashville Public Schools earlier this year to offer a nature-based education model for up to 684 middle and high school students in southeast Davidson County. MNPS board members controversially voted down the academy’s application last July and school leaders appealed to the commission to overturn that decision.
Commission members Hanson, Patterson, Richards, Tucker, and Woodson all voted to overturn MNPS, creating a 5-3 vote in favor of Tennessee Nature Academy. All five Commissioners noted that there are some financial gaps, but they believe the academy will keep working to ensure all funds are met because administrators have been constantly improving their application.
“I think this will be a continued evolution,” said Commissioner Jamie Woodson. “This is one of the most exciting applications we’ve had since I’ve been on the commission.”
The vote in favor of the Tennessee Nature Academy came against the earlier recommendation of Commission Executive Director Tess Stovall, who had some financial concerns including an insufficient budget for special needs education and a low-range pay scale for teachers within the MNPS district.
Commissioners recognized those concerns by utilizing a newly enacted law that provides the board with flexibility to delay an approved school’s opening date. This will ensure the commission is comfortable with the Tennessee Nature Academy’s finances before it opens to students next year or later.
Denied Appeals
Commissioners denied three other appeals on Tuesday’s docket including Binghampton Community Schools, Tennessee Volunteer Military Academy, and the Academy of the Arts Charter High School.
The vote against Binghampton Community School’s appeal followed concerns about the departure of its head of school. Commissioners followed Stovall’s recommended to uphold the denial because of a lack of confidence in the sponsor to carry out the school’s plan.
Commissioners felt the Tennessee Volunteer Military Academy lacked a clear plan to serve English Language Learners and students with special needs and failed to show the ability to meet enrollment standards. The appeal also came under question because of its connections to a for-profit organization. Under Tennessee law all charter school sponsors must be non-profit.
Commissioners followed Stovall’s recommendation to vote against the appeal for the Academy of the Arts because of enrollment and finance concerns. Stovall questioned the proposed school’s ability to meet enrollment standards as its proposed enrollment is half of Fayette County’s other high school. Additionally, numerous grants in the academy’s proposed budget have not been awarded.
Earlier this month commissioners denied charter appeals from proposed schools in Sumner, Williamson, and Montgomery County. The board approved two appeals from KIPP Nashville.
