Originally published August 11, 2025 and updated on August 26, 2025 with new information on Tess Stovall’s recommendation.¶
Jesse Garduno says his daughter had such a positive experience under her former principal, Dr. Ahmed White, that he plans to enroll her in his new school if it’s approved.¶
Dr. White led the Nashville-based public charter school, Smithson Craighead Academy, for six years and helped it achieve Reward school status during that time. He’s now working to establish The Rock Academy, that’s specifically designed for high school students at risk of dropping out.¶
Garduno says the model brings hope to students like he once was.¶
“As a former student of Metro Nashville, I struggled through going to school and everything. My mom working three jobs and everything. If this program would’ve been there when I was younger, I would probably stayed in school, graduated, been there every day, but as a result, I ended up dropping out. I’m working three jobs just to make ends meet, working to provide for my family and my kids,” said Garduno.¶
Tennessee’s First Opportunity Charter School¶
The Rock would be Tennessee’s first opportunity charter school, designed for students who are at-risk because they’ve either dropped out, faced criminal charges, have been retained at least twice, or are more than a year behind academically. It would provide high school students with a mentor and four distinct career and technical education (CTE) pathways, specifically targeting those from high schools with the highest percentage and/or total count of students with chronic absenteeism.¶
Members of the Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) Board of Education voted the proposed school down last June, and Dr. White appealed to the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission, hoping to overturn that decision.¶
Friday morning, commissioners held a public hearing for supporters like Garduno and other parents to make the case for the charter school. Brittany Grayson was among them.¶
“Too often after one misstep, they are written off. This creates an environment where students are led to believe that they’ve been given up on, but what they need is someone to believe in them again and again. And as a former correctional officer with the Davidson County Sheriff’s Department, I have firsthand experience with how men and women in my community were given up on due to inadequate support, guidance, and forgiveness,” said Grayson.¶
Questions About Duplication of Other Nashville Programs¶
School Board members rejected The Rock’s application in part because multiple members felt existing alternative learning programs already provide similar services.¶
District 5 Board Member TK Fayne continued to make that argument at the public hearing.¶
“The number one question was, would this school truly meet a unique need for our most at-risk students. And the answer was no,” said Fayne. “MNPS has several different programs to support chronic absenteeism and meeting the needs of our kids who are experiencing various issues and challenges with balancing school and personal life.”¶
Dr. White pushed back on that criticism, saying it’s comparing apples to oranges. He argued that because attendance at existing alternative learning centers isn’t mandatory, many students don’t go, and students at risk don’t always qualify for other programs. White says a new option is needed to serve the 4 thousand¶
“These schools serve critical roles, but they are not designed to meet the long-term needs of students at risk of disengagement. That is the gap that the Rock is seeking to fill,” said White. “Students do not feel seen. They do not feel supported, do not feel known and invested in, and we’ve built a school that does just that.”¶
White says more than four thousand MNPS students dropped out last year.¶
If approved by the commission this week, The Rock Academy would open in 2026 with an initial class of 88 freshmen and then add a grade each year. The school’s appeal received a boost in advance of Wednesday’s vote, when commission Executive Director Tess Stovall issued a recommendation in support of overturning MNPS’ denial.¶
