Metro Nashville Public Schools is accused of playing politics with families for excluding schools serving some of the highest percentages of economically disadvantaged and students of color from its annual celebration event.
The November 19 celebration and school options fair at Nissan Stadium, now known as the Celebration of Schools, is designed to give families an opportunity to learn more about the public-school options available to them.
Over its 10-plus year history, the event has included public charter schools that not only serve a higher percentage of students of color but also those who are economically disadvantaged. That isn’t the case this year.
With no explanation, MNPS decided to keep public charter schools from attending.
“This decision by MNPS is a disservice to Nashville families, especially families who have been historically disenfranchised by our public school system,” said Laurie Brown, senior vice president for Nashville Advocacy for the Tennessee Charter School Center. “If our school district truly cares about equity and about serving each individual child’s needs, they would not intentionally keep families from learning about schools with the best track record for meeting those needs. As a city, we should be demanding that our school district leaders focus on best serving children and families, rather than playing politics with important, personal decisions that each family should have the opportunity to make for themselves.”
Equally puzzling, according to Brown is why the district would want to exclude a large percentage of its highest performing schools from this event.
Nearly a third of Nashville’s recently named Reward schools are public charter schools and historically disadvantaged students scored higher in Nashville’s public charter schools than traditional public schools in recent state testing.
Data from the most recent TNReady results show that charter schools improve educational equity in Nashville:
- Less than 20 percent of Nashville public school students attend public charter schools but these schools comprise nearly 30 percent of the district’s Reward schools.
- More than 75 percent of local public charter schools received a Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System Level 5 score for student growth.
- Every historically disadvantaged student group enrolled in Nashville’s public charter schools — students of color, economically disadvantaged students, English Learners, and students with disabilities — has made progress since 2021 in both math and reading.
- Nashville’s public charter schools are improving more quickly from learning loss than other schools, gaining 11 percentage points in student proficiency in the 2021-2022 school year in both reading and math, compared to single-digit gains for MNPS and the state.
MNPS did not respond to Tennessee Firefly questions about the event. The district instead put out a press release Thursday afternoon that referenced that the Celebration of Schools and its parade will feature students and faculty from district-run schools throughout MNPS.
“We’ve had a lot of successes to celebrate in the past few months due to the hard work and accomplishments of our students, staff, and families, and this celebration will offer an opportunity to showcase the many talents and unique traits our schools and their teams have to offer the city,” said Dr. Adrienne Battle, Director of Metro Schools in the release. “We encourage all MNPS families and prospective families to come join us in the celebration and stay to interact with district and school leadership teams who will provide important information on how to be engaged in their students’ success.”
The event’s page on the district website includes a link directing parents to learn more about MNPS school options that includes information about public charter schools. Charter schools are additionally listed along with traditional schools on the district’s website.
The Metro Nashville Board of Education authorized nearly all public charter schools that are currently operating in Nashville and they’re a part of the district’s optional school offerings. Public charter schools differ from traditional public schools in that they’re managed by nonprofit organizations instead of district staff.
History of Playing Politics
This Celebration of Schools decision is the latest in a series of politically motivated moves MNPS has made against its own public charter schools in recent years.
Last Spring the district decided to bar middle school students who attend public charter schools from competing athletically with traditional public-school students.
During that same semester, the district additionally denied applications from three high-quality proposed public charter schools. The Tennessee Public Charter School Commission threw out those decisions last month.
“Improving education in Nashville is a matter of social justice, and charter schools are leading the way. This move to keep families from learning about these high-quality schools is the latest example of MNPS leadership excluding schools within their own LEA and preventing opportunities for some of their students who need them most,” Brown said. “I stand with charter schools across this city to demand that Dr. Adrienne Battle, MNPS director of schools, not hide this information from families, but instead allow them to truly learn about all of their public-school options. Historically, our country has done a disservice to our students of color and those who are economically disadvantaged. We must put an end to that now.”
