Supporters make the case for Novus SMART Academy in Rutherford County
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.
Tennessee Charter School Center appoints Elizabeth Fiveash Rush as new Chief Executive Officer
Elizabeth Fiveash Rush was recently appointed CEO of the Tennessee Charter School Center.
These Memphis middle and high schools have a new program to boost student literacy
IOTA Community Schools, formerly Green Dot Public Schools, has partnered with Reading Horizons to boost literacy instruction in four Memphis middle and high schools. The partnership brings the Reading Horizons Elevate program, which focuses on foundational reading skills for older learners, to schools like Hillcrest High, Kirby Middle, Wooddale Middle, and Bluff City High. IOTA's Chief Academic Officer, Christina Austin, emphasized the program's goal of better preparing students for college and careers through enhanced reading instruction.
Knoxville Preparatory School opens doors for first school year
The public charter school operator Prep Public Schools is looking to replicate the success of Chattanooga Preparatory School with another all-boys charter school that just opened its doors for its first school year last Thursday.
Memphis-Shelby County Schools approves two new public charter schools
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.
Tennessee Public Charter School Commission schools' comparing well with other public schools on state tests
State education officials say the schools overseen by the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission are faring well when compared to the school districts that rejected them.
SCORE TCAP analysis indicates need to address performance gaps
While recent results from the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) exam indicate that students across the state achieved “record-high” proficiency rates in English Language Arts (ELA) and made some notable progress in math, analysts from the State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) say more work is needed to address performance gaps affecting non-white and economically disadvantaged students.
Memphis Grizzlies boys' prep school looks to replicate success with new girls' public charter school
For nearly 15 years, the Memphis Grizzlies Preparatory Charter School has leveraged community partnerships with the Memphis Grizzlies NBA team to provide boys with hands-on learning and a focus on literacy and math. Now leaders want to extend those opportunities to girls.
Memphis-Shelby County Schools recommends approval for an all-girls public charter school
The Memphis-Shelby County Schools charter review team recommended school board members approve an application for the Memphis Grizzlies Preparatory STEAM School for Girls at Tuesday’s work session meeting. The proposed school would be one of three all-girls public charter schools in the state.
EFI Charter School Report: Tennessee charter school sector ranked in middle of the pack
Tennessee ranks 14th out of 30 states included in a recent report from the Education Freedom Institute that measures the quality and accessibility of states’ public charter school systems.
Students of color make up the majority of public charter school students in Tennessee. Should HBCUs get involved?
A recent report by the Tennessee Charter Center found roughly 95 percent of the state's 44,000 public charter school students are students of color and supporters believe HBCUs might be be well positioned to provide a unique K-12 learning experience, especially with the important role HBCUs are already playing in educating the next generation of Black educators and professionals.
House district candidates weigh in on private school vouchers and property taxes
The proposal to allow Tennessee families to use public dollars to send their children to private school proved to be a topic of disagreement for three candidates running in Blount County's House District 20 Republican Primary.Jason Emert, Tom Stinnett, and Nick Bright weighed in on Governor Bill Lee’s Education Freedom Scholarship Act, frequently referred to as vouchers, during a forum held last week by the Blount County Chamber of Commerce.
MNPS offers families a convenient way to engage in school choice
Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) has opened the optional schools application process for the 2023-24 school year.This process provides families and parents with the convenience of being able to select from over 100 open enrollment school options within the district. That includes many public charter schools that are among the highest performing in the district.