Following the Rutherford County Schools Board of Education’s recent decision to deny Novus SMART Academy’s application to become the fourth charter school in the district, supporters and educators from the charter school have taken their appeal to the state.

Last month school board members in Nashville and Rutherford County voted down six proposed new public charter schools.Next month supporters from all of them will make their case to the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission for why the decision was the wrong one.

Rutherford Collegiate Prep opened its doors for the first time to students last Wednesday while American Classical Academy Rutherford and Springs Empower Academy are both opening today.

Members of the Memphis-Shelby County Board of Education voted to approve amended charter applications for both the Memphis Grizzlies Preparatory STEAM School for Girls and Journey Northeast Academy at Tuesday’s board meeting.

MNPS Board of Education members voted down five proposed public charter schools.

The Tennessee Public Charter School Commission unanimously approved Nashville Collegiate Prep’s request to continue providing students its community classroom model into high school.The K-8 public charter school organizes each grade into a pod of 4 to 5 classes. Throughout the day students switch teachers within the pod based on their specific needs and strengths, providing teachers an opportunity to more directly focus lessons on the areas students might need help in.

Earlier this month when schools across Memphis shut down for winter weather, Promise Academy Spring Hill Interim Executive Director Patrick Washington says he received a memorable early morning phone call from a former student named James.Washington says James talked to him about the challenges he was facing in high school and though they hadn’t spoken in years, Washington offered to help.It’s the type of interaction Washington says students receive at Promise Academy Spring Hill and he shared that story to members of the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission to drive home the importance of keeping the school open.

Sara Vaneel says she chose to enroll her son in Rocketship Nashville Northeast Elementary School when he was entering kindergarten because she wanted him to have a different educational experience than she received.Vaneel says instead of staying with one teacher each day, her son has benefitted from the public charter school’s class rotation schedule, and he loves his coding and robotics classes.Vaneel’s son and his more than 500 classmates have all been at risk of losing what they enjoy about Rocketship since November when members of the Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) Board of Education voted against renewing the school’s charter. That decision threatened to close the school, but Rocketship appealed to the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission.Friday, commissioners unanimously voted to overturn the board’s decision and grant Rocketship another ten-year charter. It’s the latest in a series of decisions by commissioners to overturn MNPS board votes against public charter schools

Tennessee’s first Montessori public charter school is expanding its personalized learning approach to more students in the Frayser community of Memphis.Monday the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission granted the Libertas School of Memphis’s application to add grades six through eight to its existing Pre-K-5 campus, along with 148 more seats.“We are thrilled that the TN Public Charter School Commission has unanimously approved our charter amendment to serve middle school grades beginning in 2024,” said Libertas school leaders in a letter to parents following approval. “I thank our Board of Trustees for their guidance as we have carefully developed this vision over the last several years, and applaud our teachers and staff for crafting the plan.”The school is one of 16 public charter schools state commissioners oversea, and Libertas leaders say the expansion fills a void traditional public schools in Frayser aren’t filling.

Shirley Quinn says Promise Academy Spring Hill’s name played an important role in why she chose to enroll her granddaughter there.The Memphis fourth-grader struggled to learn to read in her traditional zone school and Quinn thought a public charter school offering “promise” might lead to something better.“There’s something about that name, ‘Promise’. They promise not to leave my grandbaby behind, you know I’m just thinking this in my head,” said Quinn.Shortly after enrolling, Quinn met with intervention teachers to plan a way to get her granddaughter caught up.Quinn says she was initially concerned the intervention team wouldn’t be able to help but her fears were unfounded.

The Tennessee Public Charter School Commission provided a mixed bag for supporters of two public charter schools vying to transfer into the Memphis-Shelby County School (MSCS) district.Commissioners unanimously upheld the transfer appeal from Cornerstone Prep Lester Friday but denied Fairley High School. The decision means Cornerstone Prep will continue to operate as a public charter school as it transitions to MSCS while Fairley faces an unknown future with Green Dot Public Schools no longer serving as its operator.Cornerstone Prep and Fairley are in the final year of a ten-year contract with the state-run Achievement School District (ASD), an intervention that serves the lowest achieving schools. Both schools applied to transfer into the district in hopes of continuing the turnaround work as public charter schools.

Members of the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission unanimously overturned a decision by the Jackson-Madison County School Board Thursday and questioned how “serious” district leaders were taking the process.Those comments came during Thursday’s successful appeal by American Classical Education to open the first public charter school in Madison County. School board members initially rejected ACE’s application to open American Classical Academy – Jackson-Madison (ACAJM) in July citing 74 deficiencies.The district didn’t send anyone to attend Thursday’s appeal hearing in Nashville and Commissioner Alan Levine criticized that decision, saying it makes it look as though the district isn’t taking the process seriously.

Jackson-Madison County Schools made the unusual move Wednesday to publicly attack a recommendation by the Executive Director of the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission to approve what would be the county’s first public charter school.This week Tess Stovall recommended approving an appeal by American Classical Education (ACE), finding its academic, financial, and operations plans for American Classical Academy Jackson - Madison all meet state requirements. Stovall recommended denying ACE’s other appeal for a sister school in Maury County.

Four proposed public charter schools in Memphis, Nashville, and Jackson are all receiving new support from a key state board leader.Tennessee Public Charter School Commission Executive Director Tess Stovall recommended commissioners approve those schools’ appeals at two meetings later this week.

Dozens of parents are lending their support to American Classical Education (ACE)’s appeal to open the first public charter school in Madison County.The Tennessee Public Charter School Commission received 80 written comments from the public related to ACE’s appeal and nearly 50 of them came from parents like Linda Lipford who are offering their support.

American Classical Education (ACE) will have to overcome opposition from one of Tennessee’s historically black colleges and universities if it’s going to successfully open the first public charter school in Madison County.Lane College ‘s Chief of Staff/Vice President of Institutional Advancement Darlette Samuels was among those speaking against ACE’s appeal to the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission. 

Supporters of a proposed public charter school run by Pathways in Education (PIE) provided the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission with heartfelt testimonies for why the school model needs to return to Memphis.PIE previously operated a school for at-risk students under the state-run Achievement School District (ASD) from 2014-2022. The school applied earlier this year to return to Shelby County as a new charter school in the Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS) district but school board members voted it down in July.Under state law, PIE appealed to the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission to overturn the district denial and commissioners will consider the comments submitted by the public both online and at a hearing held earlier this month.

Fairley High School’s fight to remain a public charter school in Memphis is receiving a boost from the more than 200 people who submitted comments in support of the school to the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission.The school’s future has been uncertain since the Memphis-Shelby County School Board voted down its request in July to transfer into the school district.Fairley High School was once a traditional public school but a decade ago the state moved it to the state school system intervention for low-achieving schools known as the Achievement School District (ASD). Fairley is currently in the last year of a ten-year contract with the ASD and its leadership with Green Dot Public Schools hoped a transition to Memphis-Shelby County Schools would allow the school to continue as public charter school.Under state law, Green Dot had the option of appealing to the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission to overturn the district denial.  Green Dot did just that and as part of the process, the commission is considering comments submitted by the public online and at a recent hearing.

Members of the Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) Board of Education have seen four of their decisions against proposed public charter schools overturned by the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission. Next week two new proposed schools will make the case to be added to that list.The commission has public hearings scheduled for charter appeals from Invictus Nashville Charter School and Nashville Collegiate Prep High School (NCPHS) on Monday. MNPS board members denied applications from both in July.Under state law, denied applications can appeal to the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission. Its members have the option of overturning local district denials.

Patricia Adams graduated from Fairley High School in 1989, when the school was still a traditional public school in Memphis.Since then, she’s witnessed the school undergo two different leadership changes, including what she calls a rebirth when Green Dot Public Schools took over to run Fairley as a public charter school in the state-run Achievement School District (ASD). Adams is currently serving as the organization’s Director of Operations.