Independent reviewers give high marks to three proposed public charter schools in Nashville. Will any of them get a fair shot with the school board?

Logos of the Forge School (left), the Rock Academy (center), and Rocketship Public Schools (right)

Jennifer Walker says her daughter struggled academically and lacked motivation before enrolling at the Nashville public charter school Smithson Craighead Academy.

Dr. Ahmed White (Photo by the Rock Academy)

Under the leadership of Dr. Ahmed White at the time, Smithson Craighead offered families and students support beyond what they’d see at a traditional public school, including a character education program and a parenting academy. The school achieved Reward school status under Dr. White’s leadership and Walker says her daughter thrived.

“The leadership, care, and innovative teaching approaches provided her with a sense of RELEVANCE,” wrote Walker.  “At SCA, I always knew that Dr. White and Ms. Sims were serious about my daughter’s success. They created an environment where students had a sense of belonging and relevance.”

Walker is among the more than a dozen parents and community leaders who wrote in support of Dr. White’s application to open a new public charter school that’s focused on a specific student population that Metro Nashville Public Schools is struggling to serve. Charter schools are free public schools operated by a non-profit organization under a contract or “charter” with an authorizing agency like a school district or the state.

If approved by the Metro Nashville Public Schools Board of Education, the Rock Academy would be Tennessee’s first opportunity charter school. These schools are designed for students who are at-risk because they’ve either dropped out, faced criminal charges, have been retained at least twice, or are more than a year behind academically.

The proposed school would eventually serve up to 333 high school students, specifically targeting those from the 9 Davidson County high schools with the highest percentage and/or total county of students for chronic absenteeism.

Graphic by The Rock Academy

According to its application, leaders of the Rock plan to provide each student with a mentor and offer four distinct career and technical education (CTE) pathways. The proposed school additionally has agreements in place to partner with a wide variety of agencies, organizations, and the Davidson County Juvenile and Truancy Court to provide various services to meet the specific needs of its at-risk students.

“Our mission is REENGAGE students have been disconnected - and part of that engagement means coming to school more frequently,” wrote school leaders in their application. “We will go to great lengths to make coming to school easier, more rewarding, and more effective. These efforts are meant, at least in part, to encourage kids to show up.” more often - so they can get the benefits of the program and ultimately achieve our end vision of post-secondary success.”

Education advocacy organization Tennesseans for Student Success conducted an independent Quality Charter Review (QCR) on the Rock along with two other charter schools proposed for Nashville, the Forge School, and an expansion for existing charter operator Rocketship Public Schools.  The QCR and the Tennessee Firefly are both products of and supported by Tennesseans for Student Success.

QCR reviewers found all three proposed schools meet state standards and recommended approval, including strong praise for the detail of the Rock’s application.

“The leadership has extensive experience supporting special populations and the application demonstrates a thorough understanding of identification, service delivery, and monitoring requirements for students with disabilities, English Language Learners, and gifted learners. Overall, the academic plan details a strong academic program with evidence of community support,” wrote QCR reviewers. 

QCR reviewers used the same state standards as the MNPS charter review team did for its recommendation to school board members in advance of Tuesday’s meeting, but district reviewers came to a different conclusion. According to MNPS documents, the district review team determined all three proposed schools only partially meet state requirements.

In its evaluation of the Rock’s application, district reviewers questioned the construction timeline of the proposed school facility and the plan to serve students with disabilities.

“The application did not adequately address the diploma pathways or how the proposed charter school would ensure that students, particularly those with disabilities, would meet the necessary criteria for graduation as outlined in Tennessee's educational policies and law,” wrote district reviewers.

The district review team will formally present its findings at Tuesday night’s school board meeting where members are scheduled to vote on all three proposed schools. The district hasn’t approved a new public charter school since 2021 and has had a denied charter decision overturned in each of the last four years, including three last year.

That history directly led the Tennessee General Assembly to pass legislation this year that will give charter applicants the ability to apply directly to the state in certain circumstances, including instances where districts have a history of overturned charter denials.