Last year’s decision to close Trimble Elementary School became a catalyst for residents in the tiny rural Dyer County community of Trimble to take the future of education into their own hands.¶
Within weeks of the decision, residents formed the Trimble Forward Alliance to begin the process of founding a new public charter school to serve elementary and middle school students. The organization collected signatures from more than 500 supporters and submitted the application to Dyer County Schools for the proposed Trimble Academy earlier this year.¶
Charter schools are free public schools operated by a nonprofit under a “charter” with a school district or the state. These schools are allowed the freedom and flexibility to be more innovative in their approach to educating children, but are still held accountable for advancing student achievement.¶
Amended Application Denied
Despite the strong community support, board members denied Trimble Academy’s initial application in March after appearing to misunderstand how charter schools operate, and supporters of Trimble Academy submitted an amended application for a second review this summer.¶
On Tuesday night, the Dyer County School Board denied the amended application, and supporters once again believe they weren’t given a fair hearing.¶
Trimble Forward Alliance President Margaret Prater says her group wasn’t provided an adequate opportunity to make the case for the amended application, and she believes the school board ignored important strengths that outside charter experts have commended.¶
“It was disappointing to hear much of our application mischaracterized and not be able to respond,” said Prater to the Tennessee Firefly, following up on a post she made on social media on Wednesday. “As expected, the Dyer County School Board voted to deny the charter school amended application for Trimble Academy last night, even though a prominent independent education advocacy organization found it meets the criteria for approval.”¶
Independent Recommendation for Approval
As Prater noted, Trimble Academy received high praise in an independent charter school review conducted by the education advocacy organization Tennesseans for Student Success. The organization’s annual Quality Charter Review (QCR) recommended approval for Trimble Academy, finding the application met state requirements in its academic, operational, and financial plans.¶
The QCR specifically cited Trimble Academy’s unique school model as one of the application’s strengths.¶
“The school model will infuse outdoor education, character, and civic virtues, and classical education models to offer a unique option for the community,” wrote QCR reviewers. “The application describes how outdoor education supports the needs of the whole child, including mental and physical health.” ¶
Prater told the Tennessee Firefly earlier this year that the concept itself is modeled after a similar school in Chattanooga, and supporters feel it will be a good fit for their rural community.¶
“The classes will be outside, and I’m not talking about one day a week or one time during the day. It is an outdoor classroom setting,” Prater said. “Obviously, there are sometimes that you have to be indoors, but the whole curriculum is built into that. Examples like, instead of a kindergartener sitting at their desk and counting beads, they could be walking out in the yard, picking up acorns, and counting them.”¶
District Review Questioned
The district’s review of Trimble Academy was largely handled by staff at Dyer County Schools, and supporters question why someone with more experience in charter schools wasn’t involved. Dyer County Schools has never received a charter application before, and Prater says the district didn’t utilize an outside contractor with more expertise to review her school’s application.¶
School district attorney Chuck Cagle presented the recommendation to deny Trimble Academy to the board, including questions about the outdoor learning model that independent expert reviewers cited as a strength.¶
“There’s still minimal information detailing how the instruction will take place in an outdoor learning environment. That needs to be thoroughly explained.” Said Cagle.¶
Board members ultimately followed the district staff’s recommendation and voted unanimously against Trimble Academy. Supporters plan to appeal that decision to the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission later this year.¶
The Tennessee Firefly is a project of and supported by Tennesseans for Student Success.¶
