Commentary: Parents and students in Knox County seek more education options

The state of education is dire, and parents are seeking options. The achievement gap across the state in every subject, with a 23% spread between black and white students and a 19% gap between Hispanic and white students, is widening.

In Knox County, just 10% of black students and 16% of Hispanic students are proficient in 7th-grade math. Only 23% of black students and 27% of Hispanic students are proficient in ELA in 4th grade in Knox County. The alarms should sound off at the need for better education options for minority students.

However, minority students are not alone with only 39% of students in Knox County across all demographics meeting or exceeding expectations on the English Language Arts portion of the 2022 Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program. When focusing on middle school students specifically, the number of students meeting expectations decreases to 36%.  Math scores show a mere 21% of Knox County high school students meeting or exceeding expectations.

While strides of improvement are likely to occur under Knox County’s new superintendent, Dr. Jon Rysewyk, parents, and students are asking for new options now.

Thankfully, charter schools across the state, including Knox County’s first charter school, Emerald Academy, are providing a lifeline for students. Emerald’s black scholars outperformed their 3rd – 8th-grade peers across every large district in Tennessee in both reading and math while also holding on to its position as the top-performing urban middle school in Knox County. The increase in math proficiency at Emerald is in the 91st percentile among all public schools in Tennessee.

Charter schools across the state outperform traditional public schools, with 59% achieving a Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System (TVAAS) score of Level 5, 28% more than the state’s highest-performing public schools. TVAAS Level 5 School Chattanooga Prep has submitted a letter of intent to apply to open up a new charter school, Knoxville Prep, and provide more students with an academic lifeline alongside a competitive athletic program, after-school clubs, and programming and a mentorship program.

Chattanooga Prep was founded by Ted and Kelley Alling in 2015 as a 6th-12th grade all boys school. The Alling’s founded Chattanooga Prep because they saw how students were being underserved and they wanted to change the educational landscape by providing a transformative education for the young men of tomorrow.

Knoxville Prep will resemble Chattanooga Prep and will undoubtedly match Chattanooga’s high performance and student success. The parents of Knox County students, particularly students trapped in failing school zones, are calling for more options. Knox Prep can be a new option for students and families seeking a proven model, where students are actually prepared for college and lives are put on a new trajectory that may not have otherwise been possible.