Supporters of proposed Memphis charter school tell state commission it fills a vital need for Binghampton families

The Binghampton neighborhood in Memphis is a community with a diverse population that’s struggling with poverty.Nora Jendoubi says her organization Maslow Development Inc. had both in mind when designing their proposal to establish the Binghampton Community School.The proposed public charter school would offer an International Baccalaureate education that mirrors the diversity of the area’s immigrant community, and the school would anchor the organization’s Lighthouse Project to provide other family needs like affordable housing, healthcare, and workforce development opportunities.“Given the international diversity of the community we saw a great opportunity to include the International Baccalaureate model,” said Jendoubi.The proposed K-51 elementary school would begin serving 60 students in the 2023/2024 school year and grow to 450 by year six of operations.The proposed school also plans to directly support families in other ways including using a food distribution partner, providing counseling services for all students, and emphasizing the importance of exercise during the school day as well as opening the facility on Saturdays for community health and fitness classes.School Board members with Memphis-Shelby County Schools voted to reject the Binghampton Community School application last July and Maslow Development Inc. appealed to the Tennessee Public Charter Commission to overturn the decision.Thursday the commission held a public hearing on the appeal where the school district laid out their concerns including some worries about financing.“The expense assumptions and the free opening budget are not realistic including the rent for a temporary facility and there are fiscal concerns long term if the five-year budget operates at a continual net loss,” said Memphis-Shelby County Schools Assistant Superintendent of Charter Schools Brittany Monda. “Binghampton Community School does not meet the standard for opening a school at this time.”The district also had concerns about the proposed school’s plans for providing special populations with instructional programs and whether there was adequate community support.Jendoubi says her organization received nearly 100 signatures from the community in support of the school.  She argues families need the choice of a high-quality school option because of low scores from current public schools in the area.“Low quality performance of area elementary schools are influencing the demand that we heard from community members,” said Jendoubi.  “Only 23% of schools have scored a 3 or above on the school report card for K-5 in Central City East.”Binghampton Community School is one of two new start charter appeals the commission is deciding next month.