Proposed charter school operator tries to distance itself from controversial Hillsdale College

The organization that’s appealing to open three public charter schools in Tennessee is attempting to distance itself from Hillsdale College.American Classical Education’s bid to open public charter schools in Madison, Montgomery, and Rutherford County were all voted down by each district’s board of education in July. At the time, the organization’s connections to Hillsdale were under scrutiny following controversial statements by Hillsdale President Larry Arnn captured on hidden video.“The teachers are trained in the dumbest parts of the dumbest colleges in the country.” said Arnn in that video that was later broadcast by NewsChannel 5 in Nashville.American Classical Education (ACE) appealed all three denials to the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission where the group now claims it has been wrongfully connected to Hillsdale. In two filings with the commission, American Classical Education is making a visible attempt to distance itself from the college.“We ask the Commission to do what the Board did not: keep politics out of the process, conduct a rigorous application review, and--if the application meets the standard and authorization is in the best interests of the students, district, or community--to approve the charter,” said ACE board members in a written statement to the board for its Madison County appeal. “The application and process made it abundantly clear that ACE is a separate organization from Hillsdale College.”

Madison County Appeal

The Jackson-Madison County School System Board of Education may have had the strongest words for American Classical Education of any of the three school districts that voted it down.  Multiple board members referenced the Hillsdale controversy before not only rejecting the charter application but also approving a resolution condemning Arnn’s comments.“I thought the comments that he made were very offensive, and I was personally offended because I teach in a school of education. I did not appreciate what he had to say,” said Board Member Dr. Ken Newman.“Those particular comments should not have been made against any teacher. To say teachers aren’t educated enough to teach is not a comment anyone should have made,” said Board Member Janice Hampton.In filings with the state commission, the organization says American Classical Academy Madison will be operated by American Classical Education, a nonprofit organization separate from Hillsdale College. The organization claims ACE’s initial board members were affiliated with Hillsdale College, but the group has since worked to localize the board and ensure alignment with the community.ACE claims all current board members are residents of Tennessee and only one has any prior affiliation with Hillsdale, having graduated from there in 1977“ACAM has chosen to apply for the free professional development and curricular resources Hillsdale offers to classical schools. These supports will enable our teachers to provide an excellent ELA education built around the Core Knowledge curriculum (used by thousands of public schools across the country), a strong math education based on Singapore Math (used around the world), and proven curricula for all the other subjects Tennessee students are required to master during elementary and secondary school,” said ACE board members in a written statement.The comments strike a different tone than the way the organization originally referenced Hillsdale on the Executive Summary of its amended application for American Classical Academy Madison. ACE called Hillsdale College and its Barney Charter School Initiative the "foundation for ACAJM’s plan to provide a high-quality classical American education option for students and families."  Similar language can be found in the organizations amended applications for Montgomery County and Rutherford County.

Rutherford County Appeal

American Classical Education is making a similar effort to distance its operations from Hillsdale College in its appeal to the denial of American Classical Academy Rutherford.Rutherford County Schools Board Members voted down ACE’s charter application in July citing a variety of concerns including the lack of an identified location, a lack of diversity on the governing board, and its affiliation with Hillsdale College.In that meeting, Board Member Tim Holden said he wasn’t impressed with ACE’s application, and he had harsh words for suggestions that Hillsdale might be affiliated more than 100 charter schools in Tennessee.“When you start with an end game of saying we want 150 charter schools this year, someone has put a lot of thought and work into coming up with that magic number,” said Holden.In filings with the charter commission, American Classical Education pushes back on the connections to Hillsdale in its Rutherford County application.“ACE first diversified the gender and racial diversity of its board, reduced the number of individuals with Hillsdale connections, and added Tennessee residents (thereby addressing the initial concerns raised by RCS’ committee),” said ACE board members in a written statement to the commission. “Since filing its amended Commission Appeal Statement, those individuals have formed a Tennessee nonprofit organization with a board composed entirely of Tennessee residents and chaired by Dolores Gresham.”Much like its Madison County appeal, the organization says it plans to apply for the free training and curricular resources Hillsdale offers.The Tennessee Public Charter School Commission will host a public hearing for American Classical Academy Rutherford  on Wednesday, followed by a public hearing for American Classical Academy of Madison on Thursday, and a final public hearing for American Classical Academy Montgomery  on Friday.Commissioners will decide all three appeals in October.