Metro Nashville school board renews six public charter schools
The Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) Board of Education voted Tuesday to renew the ten-year charter agreements for Valor Voyager Academy, Rocketship United Academy, STEM Prep High School, Explore! Community School, STRIVE Collegiate Academy, and KIPP Kirkpatrick Elementary.
Tennessee Charter School Center says charter schools are outperforming non-charter schools on ACT exams
A new memo from the Tennessee Charter School Center suggests that many charter school students are outperforming their non-charter school peers in ACT exams.
Knox County Schools committee recommends another 10-year charter for Emerald Academy
The Knox County Schools Board of Education is expected to decide the future of Emerald Academy on Thursday, following a recent recommendation from the district’s charter review committee to renew the charter school’s contract for another 10 years.
Poll shows widespread support for expanding charter schools, private school vouchers
A new statewide poll from the Beacon Center of Tennessee indicates that 61 percent of Tennesseans support expanding charter schools statewide, with only 14 percent in opposition.
Libertas School of Memphis ‘on track’ for 10-year renewal
Since opening its doors nearly a decade ago, Libertas School of Memphis has gained support from local community members in the Frayser area for showing a “strong trajectory of student growth” and tackling chronic absenteeism.
Nearly half of Nashville public charter schools, including LEAD Cameron, are outperforming comparable district run schools
Firefly staff compared each MNPS charter school’s performance on the State Report Card to traditional and magnet schools serving the same age students in the same school cluster and 44 percent of those charters outperformed every comparable district run school in at least a majority of subjects.
Memphis-Shelby County Schools and Tennessee’s public charter schools celebrate improved School Letter Grades
New data from the Tennessee Department of Education’s 2023-24 State Report Card shows that 290 schools have received an A for overall performance, on the second annual School Letter Grades.
Parents and educators urge state commission to renew charter for LEAD Neely’s Bend Middle School
Since opening its doors for the 2015-16 school year, LEAD Neely’s Bend Middle School has garnered support from many parents in the Madison area who say the charter school’s approach to education has been beneficial for their children’s academic growth.
Trump’s calls to eliminate U.S. Department of Education renews debate about the role of federal government in Tennessee schools
Despite the fact that the U.S. Department of Education funnels more than $800 million into Tennessee alone, some leading Republican legislators have signaled support for President-Elect Donald Trump’s promise to eliminate the department altogether.
Leaders of two public charter schools say professional development is the key to success with special populations
Schools like Leadership Preparatory Charter School in Memphis and KIPP Antioch College Prep Elementary (KACPE) in South Nashville have invested heavily in professional development efforts to better prepare teachers for working with multilingual learners and students from underserved backgrounds.
State Charter Commission reverses Memphis-Shelby County Schools’ decision to take over Wooddale Middle School
The charter school operator IOTA Community Schools will continue to run Wooddale Middle School after the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission (TPCSC) voted Thursday to reverse a decision by Memphis-Shelby County Schools leaders to deny their application.
Wooddale Middle School leaders highlight hands-on programming at charter appeal hearing
Wooddale Middle School leaders are taking their appeal to state leaders after Memphis-Shelby County Schools Board of Education members recently voted to deny Wooddale’s amended application to transfer into the district from the state-run Achievement School District.
New data shows TISA education funding is improving student proficiency in charter schools
Recent data from the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission (TPCSC) suggests that more work needs to be done to increase English language arts and math proficiency rates within the charter district. However, officials said, TISA funding has led to improvements in proficiency.
Learn more about what the data says.
Memphis School of Excellence leaders make the case to replicate the public charter school’s STEM school model in Nashville
Despite much opposition from Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) leaders, the charter school sponsor Read Foundation is still pushing for the establishment of a new charter school in the district similar to the foundation’s Memphis School of Excellence.