The Tennessee Public Charter School Commission approved a request from Empower Memphis Career and College Prep Charter Schools that would allow the charter operator to open its new school in a different location next fall.¶
Commissioners approved Empower Memphis Career and College Prep’s application on appeal last year to open a public charter school designed to serve families struggling with poverty in the Orange Mound and South Memphis communities. Under the change approved at last week’s special called meeting, Empower Memphis will instead open in a shared space with another charter school in the nearby Parkway Village and Oakhaven communities. Empower Memphis will now serve roughly 450 K-8 grade students in the Parkway Village and Oakhaven communities along with Orange Mound and South Memphis.¶
Beth Figueroa, the commission’s director of authorizing, said the school’s opening has been delayed until the 2025-26 school year, partly due to challenges in securing a suitable facility.¶
“Despite the school’s very extensive searches and efforts to identify a suitable facility, they had significant challenges due to limited availability in the targeted area, high renovation costs, building code requirements, etc. They have now identified a viable alternative location that’s approximately five minutes from the original recruitment site,” she said, adding that the new location would involve Memphis Empower co-locating with the Tennessee Career Academy, a charter school serving grades 6-12.¶
The commission acknowledged that the change will still allow the school to serve the South Memphis area and “many of the same students due to the geographic proximity of the new site,” according to documents provided by the commission.
