State board sides with public charter school in dispute with Metro Nashville Public Schools

Hundreds of Nashville public school children won’t have to endure the uncertainty of switching middle schools next month after all.At a specially called June meeting, the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission voted against Metro Nashville Public School Board’s denial of a request by Knowledge Academies to combine its three schools into one. This clears the way for students at Knowledge Academy Middle School to continue attending classes on campus for the 2022-2023 school year.The public charter school has been operating two middle schools (Knowledge Academy Middle and KA @ the Crossings) to serve grades 5 through 8 and Knowledge Academy High School serving grades 9 through 12 all on the same Antioch property.  Knowledge Academies requested merging all three under one charter last March in an emergency appeal after the MNPS board denied a renewal of the charter for Knowledge Academy Middle School.That decision would have forced more than 100 middle school children to attend a different school in their zone for the 2022/2023 year, but the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission remanded the decision back to MNPS, effectively forcing the MNPS board to accept the consolidation request.“The KA network has established itself as a viable choice for families in Southeast Nashville and has shown growth and an intent to continue building on its recent successes,” said Tennessee Public Charter School Commission Executive Director Tess Stovall in a written report prior to the vote. “I can only conclude that a consolidated charter agreement through June 30, 2026 would be in the best interest of the students, LEA, or community”Charter Renewal ProcessMNPS representatives have argued Knowledge Academies filed the emergency appeal with the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission to subvert the regular charter renewal process.The original charter for Knowledge Academy Middle School ran from 2012 to June 2023.  MNPS board members decided not to renew the charter for another ten years last January.Knowledge Academies filed an appeal to that decision ten days later but then dropped the appeal intending to focus on the request to merge its three schools into the KA @ the Crossing charter that runs through June 2026. This decision would additionally extend the charter for Knowledge Academy High School as it runs through June 2025.“Any issue with the charter renewal process should not properly be before the Commission on this matter. To hold otherwise is to allow KA to in effect create an emergency,” said MNPS in a written response. “KA engaged in the charter renewal appeal process but abandoned it once it realized its prospects of prevailing were slim due to academic, operational, and financial issues over the term of KA Middle School.”Prior History of MismanagementThe dispute over Knowledge Academy’s renewal follows a history of mismanagement the charter school claims it has overcome.On August 27, 2019, the MNPS Board of Education voted to revoke the charter agreements of all three Knowledge Academy schools, citing 14 reasons for revocation.That decision was later overturned by the State Board of Education leading to Knowledge Academies being placed on probationary status and entering into a support plan with MNPS that included corrective action steps.The charter operator completed those tasks and exited probationary status on December 18, 2020, and has shown additional academic gains since then.Knowledge Academy presented the commission with data showing it outperformed other MNPS middle schools in the Antioch area in 2021 TCAP assessments.“Both of the KA middle schools—Knowledge Academy and KA @ The Crossings— were TVAAS (Tennessee Value-Added System) level 3 schools in the Department of Education’s most recent assessment,” said the school in a written presentation.  “No middle school in Nashville posted greater growth.”School administrators argue this proof of educational growth should have been considered in the MNPS decision to renew the charter for Knowledge Academy Middle School but wasn’t.“Our school is making fantastic academic progress right now, faster than any zoned school,” said Knowledge Academies Principal Dr. Avery Finch.  “The parents see a bright future ahead of us and I do too.”The Tennessee Public Charter School Commission agreed.  Members highlighted a failure by MNPS to provide a required renewal performance report to the charter school operator as part of the charter renewal application process and a lack of evidence of to justify denying Knowledge Academies’ request before unanimously voting in support of the charter school.“My advice to Metro Nashville is to quit playing games, communicate with your schools, make sure they have the information.  If there is a legitimate concern with a school, we will hear that,” said Commissioner Eddie Smith. “Quit discriminating on these public schools just because you don’t like them.”