The Executive Director of the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission is recommending against renewing the charter for Bluff City High School, a Memphis public charter school, ahead of a public hearing on Monday regarding the school’s application for a new ten-year charter.¶
If Commissioners vote not to renew the school’s charter at their next meeting in January, Bluff City would close after this school year. The school currently serves over 400 students in grades 9-12 in the Hickory Hill community.¶
In a preliminary report published ahead of Monday’s public hearing, Executive Director Tess Stovall cites low test scores, uneven results over the school’s 10-year charter, and frequent changes in school leadership in her recommendation to not renew. The report does credit Bluff City with stronger student growth, better attendance, and sound finances in recent years.¶
“Although there are indications of improvement in certain areas, the results are not yet sufficient to overcome the school’s overall record of inconsistent academic performance throughout the charter term,” wrote Stovall.¶
Low Scores, Rising Growth
In 2024-25, only 8.8 percent of Bluff City students were proficient in math, and just 15.5 percent were proficient in English language arts (ELA), the Commission’s review found. Across Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS), the average proficiency rate for grades 9-12 was 17.4 percent in math and 27.3 percent in ELA.¶
The Commission’s estimates for last school year show Bluff City’s ELA proficiency falling to 12.3 percent and its math proficiency rising to 10.3 percent.¶
Growth tells a different, more mixed story. After multiple years at Level 1, the lowest rating in the state’s growth measure, the Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System (TVAAS), Bluff City earned a Level 5, the highest rating, in 2023-24 and a Level 4 in 2024-25.¶
Additionally, the share of each graduating class the state identifies as Ready Graduates, those prepared for college, career, or the military based on student outcome data, rose from 8.9 percent in 2021 to 62.9 percent in 2025, state data show.¶
Reviewers who spent a full day at the school in September found classrooms “calm and compliant” but noted “an observed lack of rigor,” with teachers “doing most of the cognitive lift.” The report notes Bluff City has had at least five principals over its charter term, and school leaders told reviewers that principal changes often brought staff turnover.¶
The School’s Case
IOTA Community Schools, the local network that replaced Green Dot Public Schools Tennessee as Bluff City’s operator in 2024, argued in its renewal application that the numbers need context.¶
“One fact is essential to interpreting every number that follows: incoming 9th graders arrive at Bluff City approximately four grade levels behind in both math and reading, as measured by AimsWeb diagnostics each fall,” wrote the network. “This is our starting line.”¶
The application describes “a low starting point, a COVID-driven decline, and a clear, accelerating recovery over the past two years.” It also points to family satisfaction, up from 57.1 percent in 2021-22 to 91.4 percent in 2024-25, and to a sharp drop in chronic absenteeism.¶
How Nearby Schools Compare
The Commission’s report compares Bluff City with five high schools within five miles, three run by MSCS and two district-authorized public charter schools. ¶
In 2024-25, Bluff City earned a C on the state’s School Letter Grade accountability system. That’s the same grade as Southwind High School and Memphis School of Excellence, while Kirby and Wooddale High Schools earned D grades and Power Center Academy earned a B.¶
Bluff City’s Level 4 growth rating that year beat every nearby school except Power Center Academy, which earned a Level 5. Its 78.8 percent graduation rate for the class of 2026, posted last month, tied Wooddale’s and trailed the other four.¶
A law passed this year requires authorizers to automatically renew high-performing public charter schools. A school qualifies for automatic renewal with three straight years of top-two growth ratings, meeting standards on at least 75 percent of the indicators in each section of its performance framework, and no significant audit findings. Bluff City does not qualify for automatic renewal and must have its full renewal application voted on by the Commission. The Commission’s report says the school has not consistently met the framework’s standards and is unlikely to have met them last school year.¶
What Happens Next
Monday’s hearing begins at 2:30 p.m. at the school, 4100 Ross Road. Up to 15 people may speak for two minutes each, and they must sign up by 2:30 p.m. Friday, or sooner if the slots fill. Written comments will be accepted until 2:30 p.m. on November 23.¶
Following the hearing, Stovall will then write a final recommendation, and Commissioners are expected to vote at their January meeting. They can renew the charter for 10 years or deny it, and their decision is final.¶
