When the parade begins Saturday morning to celebrate Nashville’s public schools, the students marching will not totally reflect the city’s diverse student population.
Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) made the surprising decision to exclude the city’s 30 public charter schools from attending the annual Celebration of Schools and School Options Fair for the first time in its 10-plus year history.
The decision has attracted criticism from public charter school supporters who point out 80 percent of charter students are students of color. These schools additionally serve higher percentages of other historically underserved student groups, including those who are low income.
The Tennessee Firefly first reported on this decision last week and since then, MNPS has doubled down on its decision.
WPLN reported Wednesday that an MNPS spokesperson says that’s “not unusual” for district events to showcase district-run schools.
Main-Street Nashville additionally reported that an MNPS spokesperson sent an email saying the district’s vision for the event is to “celebrate the unique qualities and traits of our schools that are operated by the district.”
“It’s not unusual for the district to hold events that only include our district run-schools, which operate under the leadership structure of MNPS,” said MNPS spokesperson Michael Cass according to the Main-Street Nashville report.
MNPS has not responded to Tennessee Firefly questions about the event but its comments to other media do not completely reflect the district’s recent actions.
MNPS included public charter schools in its September press release cheering the growth of schools receiving Reward school status by the state. Nearly 30% of the 48 Reward schools are public charter schools. Districtwide less than 20% of public schools are charters.
Even the Celebration of Schools page on the district website itself 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 and the Metro Nashville Board of Education authorized nearly all public charter schools that are currently operating in Nashville. These schools are a part of the district’s optional school offerings and they differ from traditional public schools in that they’re managed by nonprofit organizations instead of district staff.
The Tennessee Charter School Center has been among the most vocal critics of the decision to exclude public charter schools from this event, saying MNPS is preventing families from traditionally marginalized communities from learning more about the schools that have the best track record for meeting their needs.
More than 75 percent of local public charter schools received a Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System Level 5 score for student growth and 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.
Additionally, 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.
“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.”
