Three new public charter schools took different paths to serve families in Rutherford County

Students arrive at the first day of Rutherford Collegiate Prep (Photo by Rutherford Collegiate Prep)

This month families Rutherford County became the first to have access to a public charter school outside of Tennessee’s four largest cities.

Students arrive at the first day of Rutherford Collegiate Prep (Photo by Rutherford Collegiate Prep)

Rutherford Collegiate Prep opened its doors for the first time to students last Wednesday while American Classical Academy Rutherford and Springs Empower Academy are both opening today.

Charter schools are free public schools operated by an independent contract or “charter” with an authorizing agency, like local school boards or the state. Tennessee currently has more than 100 charters in Memphis, Nashville, Chattanooga and Knoxville serving more than 40 thousand students.

The schools opening this month in Rutherford County each offer families a public school option in places where that hasn’t always been available for those with limited financial resources.

They also took vastly different journeys to get here.

History of success in Nashville

Rutherford Collegiate Prep is replicating the education model of the existing Nashville Collegiate Prep that organizes each grade into pods of classes.  Throughout the day students switch teachers within the pod based on their specific needs and strengths, giving teachers the opportunity to more directly focus lessons on the areas students might need help in.

That model led students at Nashville Collegiate to outperform every district run public school in the Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) Cane Ridge school cluster where it’s located on every subject on state testing. The disparity is especially noticeable in the middle school grades where Collegiate students achieved proficiency in math 12 percent higher than any MNPS run middle school in the cluster and 17 percent higher in social studies on the most recently available state testing data.

In the leadup to the school’s opening day, Rutherford Collegiate Prep advertised its community model to parents by sharing posts on social media from teachers using it in Nashville.

“I enjoy teaching the community model because it gives teachers the opportunity to teach their strengths. It enables us to be able to reach more children. It is a true sense of collaboration, and everyone has an integral part to play in planning for the community,” wrote Nashville Collegiate Prep teacher identified as Ms. Blair.

The public charter school opened with an initial K-6 grade class this year and will add seventh and eighth grades next year to eventually serve approximately 700 students in Murfreesboro.

The Tennessee Public Charter School Commission cleared the way for Rutherford Collegiate Prep to after school board members voted it down in 2021.

Opening today in Smyrna and La Vergne

The approval for both American Classical Academy and Springs Empower Academy came directly through the school board, but each school offers something different to a separate community.

The organization that’s running Springs Empower Academy also operates public charter schools in California, Texas, and Georgia.

The Tennessee location provides K-5 grade students with a hands-on, interest-driven, project-based learning education with Montessori-aligned approaches. The school is initially serving 250 students in a temporary location at the Smyrna Boys and Girls Club and will eventually grow to serve 480 K-5 grade students once the school’s permanent building is constructed.

Executive Director Principal Shane Wickwire (Video by Springs Empower Academy)

Executive Director Principal Shane Wickwire posted a video on social media last week showing staff and parents helping get the new school ready for the first day.

“We’ve got all of these parent volunteers. It is the volunteer state and they’ve come out to help,” said Wickwire. “We’re excited to get this school open.”

American Classical Academy Rutherford is one of two public charter schools that American Classical Education (ACE) has received approval to open in Tennessee.

Since Governor Bill Lee first introduced the organization in his State of the State address in 2022, ACE has faced widespread criticism for its connections to Hillsdale College and its classical education curriculum model. That criticism led to 3 school boards, including Rutherford County’s, voting ACE’s charter applications down in 2022 and another 4 voting them down last year. Board members with Rutherford County Schools were only local board to grant ACE’s approval last year.

Aerial view of American Classical Academy Rutherford (Photo by ACAR)

American Classical Academy Rutherford is opening to students in grades K-5 this year in La Vergne and will add a grade each year until it’s a K-12 school. The schools' American Classical Education model places a strong emphasis on language, content-rich subjects, a solid foundation of core knowledge, and an in-depth exploration of the historical, literary, and scientific legacies of the United States and Western civilization.

“At American Classical Academy Rutherford, we believe in fostering not just academic excellence, but also strong moral character,” wrote the school on social media.

ACE’s other Tennessee school, American Classical Academy Jackson-Madison, will open next Fall after receiving approval from the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission.