Rutherford County approves Tennessee’s first suburban charter school

Tennessee currently has no charter schools operating outside the big four cities of Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville, and Chattanooga.Rutherford County’s School Board ensured that won’t be the case next year with a historic decision for school choice at its July 18 meeting.By a vote of 5 to 2, board members accepted an amended application from Springs Public Schools Tennessee - Empower Academy, to open a charter school in the 2023/2024 school year.“It’s not going to fit all students and many students are going to stay with the schools they’re already thriving at but just as a parent to have a choice for their children is all that we ask for,” said Springs Public Schools Empower Academy Executive Director Jared McLeod.When it opens next year, Empower Academy will serve Kindergarten through 8th grade students in the Lavergne and Smyrna area of Rutherford County.  The charter would have a proposed enrollment of 150 students in its first year and grow to 800 students by the 2031/2032 school year.“We’re way behind in building schools and charter schools are one way that we can get our county school system the classroom spaces due to severe overcrowding,” said board member Claire Maxwell.  “Springs Charter, by focusing on a unique and special individualized approach to each child’s learning style seems to be a good fit.”School board member Coy Young was among the two who voted against the academy’s application.   Young said a key factor in his decision is a recent survey of Rutherford County that had 179 responses with 48 supporting charter schools and 131 opposing them.“We’re here to represent the people of Rutherford County,” said board member Coy Young. “I have to take that as a pretty good representation of our population.”Several of the five board members voting in favor of Empower Academy referenced the unique learning environment the school is proposing as a big part of their vote.The Academy is planning to use a Montessori hands-on learning environment focusing on personalized learning, mastery learning, and a student-driven process.  The school will not be partnering with a Charter Management Organization, but will have close affiliation with Springs Public Schools, Inc. in California.“As a 45-year public school teacher I have never been in favor of charter schools,” said board Vice Chair Shelia Bratton.  “You can change your mind on this.  I feel like if there is something that can be offered to our children that can not be offered in a public school, and I think one of these schools does offer something different, then we need to look into it.”“We’ve never once said we are coming here for higher test scores or to improve anything, just to be another choice for the families here in Rutherford County,” said McLeod. “A core belief that we believe here at Spring is that all children are different and just providing our families here in Rutherford County another option for their children to explore their strengths and gifts.”The board also decided against an application from Hillsdale affiliated charter American Classical Academy Rutherford. Hillsdale has come under fire from educators and elected officials across the state following controversial comments about teachers from Hillsdale president Larry Arnn.