Four proposed public charter schools may face a tougher road to finding approval in Memphis.
The Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS) charter review team is recommending school board members deny applications from every proposed public charter school this year, including Pathways in Education, CHANGE Academy, Empower Memphis Career and College Prep, and the Tennessee Career Academy.
Reviewers determined all but one, Empower Memphis Career & College Prep, failed to meet state standards for academic, operational, and financial plans.
“We have a lot of different or unique models that have applied, however for most the academic model still has some concerns that are related to it either they don’t meet state law or potentially more defining is needed to better understand how that model is created and will be executed. There’s also some governance structures and questions related to potential conflicts and just how academics will be supported by the operations of the school,” said Assistant Superintendent of Charter Schools Brittany Monda.
Assistant Superintendent Monda said the review team is additionally recommending denial for Empower Memphis Career and College Prep because the proposed school is in an area that is considered “saturated.”
“There are open seats within that neighborhood and so based on our local policy the recommendation is denial,” said Monda.
Metro Nashville Public Schools used a similar reason to deny the application from the Tennessee Nature Academy last year, only to see that denial overturned by the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission.
MSCS board members will have the option of going against any of the district team’s recommendations when they vote on all four amended applications next Tuesday.
Board members initially denied all four initial applications last April in one vote. Under state law, each applicant has the option to file an amended application that addresses district concerns.
Administrators with fifth proposed school, Memphis Grizzlies Prep STEAM School for Girls, chose not to file an amended application.
Diverse Applications
The four amended applicants all propose to offer a different type of education model that meets a specific need in Shelby County.
Empower Memphis Career and College Prep would provide a “career focus” in the Orange Mound and South Memphis community. The proposed school would eventually serve 450 students in kindergarten through eighth grade with a career technical education (CTE) model that’s designed to provide students with academic and technical skills through hands-on training and experience. Independent reviewers with the Quality Charter Review (QCR) agreed with district reviewers that the application from Empower Memphis Career and College Prep met state standard. QCR reviewers recommended approval for the school’s application.
Pathways in Education (PIE) would serve at-risk students in Memphis with a unique flexible hybrid schedule. PIE previously operated two schools in Memphis under the state’s Achievement School District and the organization is specifically designing this school to help students who’ve dropped out, are chronically absent, or are facing other at-risk factors. Unlike the district review team, QCR reviewers determined PIE’s application met state standards and recommended approval.
The Tennessee Career Academy would provide a CTE focused school on the former Memphis Technical High School location. The proposed school would eventually serve 750 students in grades 6 through 12 with four career and technical education “pathways” including business and communication, engineering and advanced manufacturing, health and human services, and skilled trades.
The CHANGE Academy would be one of the few all-male public high school in Memphis, eventually serving 312 students in 9 through 12 grade in the Whitehaven/Westwood/Hillcrest community. The proposed school would also utilize an extended school day that creates 60 extra days of instruction.
Charter applicants denied by MSCS board members will have the option of appealing to the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission in the fall.
