Memphis families urge state charter commission to keep Promise Academy Spring Hill open

Shirley Quinn says Promise Academy Spring Hill’s name played an important role in why she chose to enroll her granddaughter there.The Memphis fourth-grader struggled to learn to read in her traditional zone school and Quinn thought a public charter school offering “promise” might lead to something better.“There’s something about that name, ‘Promise’. They promise not to leave my grandbaby behind, you know I’m just thinking this in my head,” said Quinn.Shortly after enrolling, Quinn met with intervention teachers to plan a way to get her granddaughter caught up.Quinn says she was initially concerned the intervention team wouldn’t be able to help but her fears were unfounded.“I was like ‘my grandbaby’s been left behind’ and Ms. Smith was like ‘well we have intervention and we’re going to put her there.’ And I’m like to myself, baby, she’s so far behind, this little girl cannot read,” said Quinn. “So when I met with the intervention (team), you all, my grandbaby. The work that they gave her in intervention was on her level. It was like first grade, but that’s what she is. I wasn’t offended because they’re taking her back to the basics.”Quinn’s story is among those parents and supporters of Promise Academy Spring Hill offered the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission at a hearing last week on the school’s future.The commission serves as the school’s authorizer and Promise Academy is in the final year of a ten-year contract.School leaders submitted a renewal application to the commission for a new ten-year charter agreement to continue serving more than 400 students from PreK through fifth-grade in Memphis.“We have a team of solid educators with rich experiences in this work. We met to determine what do we want to be, what do we want to be known for? Names mean something,” said Promise Academy Executive Director Patrick Washington. “We want folks think when they think Memphis and think education, we want Promise Academy to come to mind.”One of the school’s priorities is ensuring that teachers are supported and coached. Promise Academy developed a data-driven school culture where educators routinely use student achievement data to plan instruction and support continuous improvement.Administrators and teachers use the data gathered from assessments to identify strength, areas of growth, trends, instruction and assessment, and how to determine the best course of action for their curriculum planning.Principal Kimbra McBride says this process also includes working with teachers at the school’s sister location, Promise Academy Hollywood.“We have a targeted focus on instruction to where out teachers know exactly what they’re going to teach every single day, we’re focused on teaching standards and building their capacity in the classroom. We’ve also leveraged our sister school Hollywood and our teachers have an opportunity to plan with other teachers,” said McBride.The commission’s review committee that evaluated Promise Academy’s renewal application expressed concerns with a lack of detail for how the school will address special populations of students such as English language learners, along with questions about staff professional development with the staff and the governing board.Executive Director Tess Stovall provided a preliminary recommendation in favor of the school’s renewal application. Stovall commended Promise Academy for its ability to continuously improve and address academic deficits in students. She also praised the school for making organizational changes to allow for long-term networking and for having strong family engagement.The commission will vote on Promise Academy Spring Hill’s renewal application in January.