District staff with Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS) are recommending that school board members approve two of four proposed new public charter schools next week.¶
Those charter schools include Urban Dove I in the Hickory Hill area of Memphis, and Urban Dove II, proposed for the Raleigh/Frayser, Orange Mound, or Parkway Village areas.¶
During Tuesday’s board work session, district staff recommended denying the applications for two other proposed charter schools, Opportunity Youth Academy and The Empowerment Academy. Charter schools are free public schools operated by a nonprofit organization under a “charter” with a school district or the state.¶
The Memphis-Shelby County School Board denied all four proposed schools in April, and each submitted an amended application for a second review this summer.¶
Urban Dove I & II
The proposed Urban Dove high schools would be an expansion of the New York-based Urban Dove charter network. These schools would also be classified as Opportunity Charter Schools, which are specially created for at-risk students in grades six through 12.¶
The schools will utilize a model especially tailored to what its school leader Terri Gaston called “over-aged and under-credited” students with a system that does not have grade levels, but instead has three “leagues,” which are operated using a sports-themed team-building concept.¶
If officially approved by the MSCS board, it would open for the 2027-2028 school year and serve up to 135 students before expanding to 310 students in the next five years.¶
Urban Dove’s Approval Recommendations
In the district’s application reviews, both Urban Dove schools met state standards for each major section: Educational Program Design and Capacity, Operations Design and Capacity, Budget and Finance, and its Addenda.¶
“The amended application demonstrates a stronger alignment between the school’s mission and its accountability framework by incorporating clear academic, engagement, and youth development indicators, along with specific measures for assessing and communicating progress to stakeholders,” a passage used in both Urban Dove schools’ amended application reviews said. “The applicant strengthened its understanding of the target population by providing more detailed analyses of anticipated academic and non-academic student needs, using both local data and Urban Dove New York outcomes to support program design and student support planning.”¶
The review also noted that both Urban Dove schools improved their enrollment and recruitment plans through “more realistic” projections, clarification of the schools’ intended demographics, and more comprehensive recruitment strategies based on community outreach.¶
Opportunity Youth Academy/Empowerment Academy Denial Recommendations
The district’s denial recommendations for Opportunity Youth Academy and Empowerment Academy were similar in that each application only “partially met” state standards.¶
Staff noted Opportunity Youth Academy’s strengths in its final review of the school’s amended application, saying the school improved its application by providing a more complete and detailed plan for how it will operate, manage money, and follow required rules. However, the review stated the school did not fully address financial concerns and district staff remain worried about whether the school has a strong enough financial plan to operate successfully.¶
The recommendation to deny Empowerment Academy’s amended application hinged on concerns about whether the school's financial plan is strong, realistic, and sustainable over the long term.¶
The board is scheduled to vote on all four applications during its next meeting on Tuesday, July 28.¶
