Public charter schools are playing a prominent role in Nashville’s recognition for improved academic performance.The Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) announced Monday that Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) has increased the number of reward schools this year to 48 achieving the top accountability status during the 2021-2022 school yearNearly 30% of those 48 Reward Schools (14 total) are public charter schools.

The Tennessee Public Charter School Commission heard from both parents and students Thursday morning who feel Southeast Nashville has a real need for a different educational approach to serve children who are English learners and those from underserved communities.The comments came during a public hearing for proposed public charter school Saber STEM Academy.

More than twenty speakers addressed the commission in both hearings including parents with young children in tow pleading for an alternative to traditional classroom-bound learning. Multiple homeschool families explained their decision to leave MNPS schools and why they would prefer the option of enrolling their children at the Tennessee Nature Academy to better meet their development needs.

An analysis of TNReady data by the Nashville Charter Collaborative found public charter schools are serving a higher percentage of economically disadvantaged students and students of color in Nashville and those students are showing stronger gains in math and English-Language Arts (ELA) at public charter schools.

Step Up, a mentorship nonprofit founded in 1998, announced they are expanding their operations to Nashville after Music City native, Reese Witherspoon, made a multi-year investment.

This fall a little-known state board could play a huge role in expanding school choice options for parents across the state.The Tennessee Public Charter School Commission will decide the appeals of thirteen potential new public charter schools who all were previously denied by their local school boards.

Metro Nashville Public Schools fired off a scathing response this week to a new Beacon Center report that’s critical of the way school districts across the state have been spending their COVID relief money.The Beacon Center reviewed data on the $3.4 billion Tennessee school districts received from the federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER) to evaluate how those dollars are spent. Its report questioned facility investments and other spending by multiple school districts, including $3 million Metro Nashville Public Schools spent for elementary school design services.

A new report from Beacon Center of Tennessee shows that school districts throughout Tennessee received a total of nearly $3.5 billion sent directly to districts in COVID-19 recovery funding.That funding, however, was then used by districts for items such as mattress pads, instant pots, toaster ovens, Apple pens, security cameras, sound systems, and sending teachers to a conference in Baltimore. The funds were part of the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund, or ESSER, which has had three phases of funding.

The Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) Board of Education provided school choice supporters with a mixed bag at Monday afternoon's specially called meeting.

The Metro Nashville Public Schools Board of Education sent another sign Tuesday night that public charter schools will not have an easy time making their case in Music City.

Hundreds of Nashville public school children won’t have to endure the uncertainty of switching middle schools next month after all. At a specially called June meeting, the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission voted against Metro Nashville Public School Board’s denial of a request by Knowledge Academies to combine its three schools into one.