American Classical Education (ACE) will open at least one public charter school in Tennessee, but the group’s controversial history remains a roadblock in several communities.This week five school boards voted on applications for ACE to open public charter schools with a classical education focus.  The organization received approval from Rutherford County Schools and came close with board members in Maury County Public Schools, but the group still faced opposition in Madison, Robertson, and Montgomery Counties.

Metro Nashville Public Schools Board of Education said no to three proposed schools Tuesday night, including one by a former student.The board voted 5 to 2 against Invictus Nashville Charter School and unanimously voted against Pathways In Education-Nashville and Nashville Collegiate Prep High School.

Brenda Jones has a personal reason behind her mission to establish a new public charter school in Nashville.In a city that’s increasingly full of transplants, Jones is a proud Nashville native. She grew up living in East Nashville’s public housing at James Cayce Homes and attended public schools nearby, but her experience going into high school was a lesson in how the education system can be improved.

The expulsions of two Democratic lawmakers last week may not last long after all.Wednesday afternoon members of the Shelby County Commission unanimously voted to reappoint Representative Justin J. Pearson.  That vote followed a Metro Council move to reappoint Representative Justin Jones to his Nashville seat.

Amber Green had a few specific characteristics in mind when she began looking for an elementary school for her son Greyson. Green says she wanted a school that not only provided structure, but also joy.Green says she found both in the soon to open Nashville Classical West public charter school.

Without objection, the council suspended its rules to immediately nominate and approve Jones to fill the District 52 seat as Jones sat in the gallery.

A retention policy tied to state reading test scores is drawing both support and skepticism.

The McGavock Cluster in Donelson and Hermitage serves close to ten percent of the Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) student population and houses the largest high school in Middle Tennessee.Despite the diverse population, leaders of the proposed public charter school Invictus Nashville say enrollment data shows many students leave the area to attend middle and high school elsewhere.It’s among the reasons they’ve chosen that section of eastern Davidson County to provide an alternative education model that includes two teachers per classroom.

Legislation designed to limit the appeal options for public charter schools who’ve had their applications wrongfully denied by school districts, saw a quick exit in the House committee process Tuesday.Members of the House K-12 Subcommittee voted 6 to 2 against Franklin Representative Sam Whitson’s legislation.  It would have prevented proposed public charter schools from appealing denied applications to the Public Charter School Commission if the school district they’re applying in has no priority schools.

Thursday morning two House Democrats used what would otherwise be a routine vote to reauthorize the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission to take swipes at public charter schools despite academic success in their own counties.

Metro Nashville Public Schools opened its application portal Wednesday for parents who want to enroll their child in the district’s Pre-K program.Children who will be 4 years old on or before August 15 are eligible for the program that’s designed to give Nashville’s youngest learners the skills and building blocks necessary to have a successful grade-school education

LEAD Public Schools announced LEAD Neely’s Bend will be the first public charter school in Nashville to exit the state-run Achievement School District (ASD) and move under the authority of the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission.The ASD is a school system in Tennessee created to provide academic intervention for the state’s lowest performing schools. LEAD Neely’s Bend qualified to move out of the ASD through improved academic performance during the 2021-22 school year.