Knox County Board of Education approves the county’s second public charter school

Knox County School Board Member Susan Horn (District 5) provided the tie breaking vote at Thursday’s special called meeting to approve the county’s second public charter school.Horn wasn’t present during the initial vote 4-4 tie vote earlier this month that not only failed to approve the application from Knoxville Preparatory School, it also failed to agree on a reason for denial.The board scheduled Thursday’s special called meeting to provide clarity on the application.Horn told her fellow board members she decided to support Knox Prep’s application after reviewing the district charter review team’s recommendation in favor of it and after communicating with parents who support it.“I wholeheartedly believe in the right of parents to determine where their children go to school,” said Horn. “Many of the people that I represent are very much in favor of charter schools and parents having more choice.Knox Prep will be an all-boys school for grades six through twelve in the urban center of Knoxville. The school model replicates PREP Public Schools’ existing Chattanooga Preparatory School in Hamilton County that’s found success serving historically disadvantaged students.School leaders say last school year more than 90 percent of Chattanooga Prep's students were students of color and nearly 80% were from families with low income.  Those students saw more academic growth on the Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System (TVAAS) compared to other Hamilton County middle schools serving a similar demographic of students according to the organization.PREP Public Schools says it’s applying to open a school in Knoxville because local families and community leaders have asked them to.“Knox Prep has a unique positioning to offer Knox County families additional school choice with the county’s second charter school and the first all-boys public school aimed to build men of tomorrow,” wrote the organization in its application.Board Member John Butler (District 1) was among the four board members who voted against the application, and he additionally made an unsuccessful motion to deny it.Buter says he’s concerned that some data in the school application, including data involving economically disadvantaged students, doesn’t match the state’s data.“You look at that application and you look at state data. They’re different,” said Butler. “I don’t think if we apply for something, and we put data in there and the data is inconsistent with the state that the grant provider is gonna have the superintendent say well just take my word for it.”Knox Prep is proposed to open during the 2024/2025 school year.