Three members of the Knox County Board of Education continued to work against efforts to establish a public charter school with a history of successfully serving economically disadvantaged and students of color Thursday night.Board members John Butler, Katherine Bike, and Jennifer Owen were among those who unsuccessfully opposed the all-boys Knoxville Preparatory School’s approval last April. The school model replicates PREP Public Schools’ existing Chattanooga Preparatory School in Hamilton County that’s a Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System (TVAAS) Level 5 school, the highest of the state’s academic growth measure.

Members of the Sumner County School Board voted to keep the book “Hey, Kiddo” on library shelves Tuesday after its own author sent a video message to support it."Hey, Kiddo” is the graphic memoir detailing author and illustrator Jarrett J. Krosoczka’s life growing up in a family grappling with addiction.An Ellis Middle School parent filed a request to have the book taken off the library shelves after their sixth-grade child checked out the book. The parent filed the challenge claiming “Hey, Kiddo” contained inappropriate language and depictions of mature content.

Multiple members of the Knox County Board of Education who unsuccessfully opposed Knoxville Preparatory School’s approval in April, are continuing to make it more challenging for the public charter school to open.Knox Prep faced no obstacles working out the details of its charter agreement with district staff, but board members John Butler and Katherine Bike temporarily blocked the contract at last month’s meeting by abstaining on what should have been a routine vote for approval. The board will make another vote on the contract this Thursday and Tuesday’s work session provided Knox Prep’s opponents with another opportunity to continue to challenge it.

When the founders of Nashville Classical proposed the new public charter school in 2013, acquiring facilities was a huge challenge.School leaders had to meet with future parents in church basements and parks.Addressing that charter facility gap is among the priorities the Tennessee State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) announced it plans to advocate for in 2024. Tennessee SCORE unveiled its annual State of Education in Tennessee report Tuesday morning and made the case that charter facilities are one key area Tennessee needs to address to ensure school support meets student needs.

Underperforming Indiana third graders who are held back show significant progress for the next five years, a research study has found.The study examined data from 2011-12 to 2016-17 and found that students who were retained in third grade scored about 18 points higher in English language arts and math in fourth grade than low-performing peers who were not retained. The gains continued through seventh grade, through at a slower rate.

Tennessee’s first Montessori public charter school is expanding its personalized learning approach to more students in the Frayser community of Memphis.Monday the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission granted the Libertas School of Memphis’s application to add grades six through eight to its existing Pre-K-5 campus, along with 148 more seats.“We are thrilled that the TN Public Charter School Commission has unanimously approved our charter amendment to serve middle school grades beginning in 2024,” said Libertas school leaders in a letter to parents following approval. “I thank our Board of Trustees for their guidance as we have carefully developed this vision over the last several years, and applaud our teachers and staff for crafting the plan.”The school is one of 16 public charter schools state commissioners oversea, and Libertas leaders say the expansion fills a void traditional public schools in Frayser aren’t filling.

When Governor Bill Lee unveiled his proposed program to offer taxpayer funded private-school scholarships Tuesday, Tennessee House Education Administration Chair Mark White, R-Memphis, was among the supporters who made the trip to Nashville to be in attendance.White says he plans to support the Education Freedom Scholarship Act as he believes competition will improve education in Tennessee.

When Governor Bill Lee unveiled his proposed program to offer taxpayer funded private-school scholarships Tuesday, Tennessee House Education Administration Chair Mark White, R-Memphis, was among the supporters who made the trip to Nashville to be in attendance.White says he plans to support the Education Freedom Scholarship Act as he believes competition will improve education in Tennessee.

About 3,500 social studies teachers converge on Nashville this weekend for their annual national conference, but not without some pushback for meeting in a state with multiple laws aimed at classroom censorship and restrictions related to discussing race and gender.“Some of our members have worried that this could be a hostile environment for them,” said Wesley Hedgepeth, a social studies teacher in Henrico County, Virginia, and this year’s president of the National Council for the Social Studies.

Jauana Luiz Cruz says the transition of moving to Nashville from Mexico was a huge challenge for her elementary school age son.Speaking through an interpreter at Tuesday's Metro School Board meeting, Cruz says language barriers were especially a problem and her son hated school so much she worried the family might have to make an emotionally difficult decision of moving him back to Mexico.

That changed after a coworker connected the family with Rocketship Nashville Northeast Elementary School.

The Memphis-Shelby County School Board approved an expansion request Tuesday night for one the district’s oldest public charter schools.Under the expansion plan, existing K-6 STAR Academy will grow to serve grades K-8.“I want to emphasize the profound impact this amendment could have, granting STAR Academy the opportunity to extend our reach into middle schools. Education is not merely about expanding a school. It’s about uplifting our community,” said STAR Academy Board Chair Gerald Fanion. “This proposed expansion is more than just growth. It represents a commitment to the future of our students and to the community we proudly serve.”

The Memphis-Shelby County School Board approved an expansion request Tuesday night for one the district’s oldest public charter schools.Under the expansion plan, existing K-6 STAR Academy will grow to serve grades K-8.“I want to emphasize the profound impact this amendment could have, granting STAR Academy the opportunity to extend our reach into middle schools. Education is not merely about expanding a school. It’s about uplifting our community,” said STAR Academy Board Chair Gerald Fanion. “This proposed expansion is more than just growth. It represents a commitment to the future of our students and to the community we proudly serve.”

Arieale Munson says the private school her 12-year-old son Steven attends in Memphis is putting him on the path to his dream of becoming a paleontologist.St. George’s Independent School provides Steven with an outdoor club where he looks for fossils and archives. Munson says the school also provides her son with access to extra-curricular activities like Lacrosse, tennis, and swimming.

The Williamson County Board of Education voted Monday night to approve a nearly $1 billion updated five-year capital improvement plan which includes construction projects to accommodate the district’s growing student population.The new plan is a significant increase from last year’s total of $700 million. That money would fund 9 new buildings along with major renovations to 9 existing schools along with other renovations and maintenance.

The Jackson-Madison School Board officially authorized its attorney to begin pursuing a legal challenge to last month’s decision to grant the county’s first public charter school.Board attorney Dale Thomas says he now plans to file a lawsuit in hopes of overturning the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission’s decision in favor of the application from American Classical Education (ACE) to open a school in Jackson.  The commission’s decision overturned an earlier vote by school board members against ACE in July.

The Jackson-Madison County School System (JMCSS) announced the launch of a new teacher grant program aimed at supporting innovative teaching methods, professional development opportunities, and classroom resources.The Supporting Teachers' Academic Resources (STAR) initiative will offer teachers the opportunity to apply for grants of up to $1,000 each.

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee plans to unveil the details of a proposed statewide expansion to the Education Savings Account (ESA) program Tuesday.The current ESA pilot program allows qualifying economically disadvantaged students who attend Memphis-Shelby County Schools, Metro Nashville Public Schools, Hamilton County Schools, or a school that was in the Achievement School District on May 24, 2019, to apply state and local dollars toward education expenses at private schools.

Gueller Gonzalez has always placed a priority on ensuring her kids have access to a quality education in a nurturing environment that treats them equally and with respect. The path to that education though hasn’t been the same for each of her five children.Gonzalez’s youngest children have individual education needs that are a better fit in one of Chattanooga’s traditional public schools while her three older children have all found success in public charter schools Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy (CGLA) and Chattanooga Preparatory School.

Memphis-Shelby County Schools leaders have proposed eliminating 675 jobs along with a mix of student programs as they figure out how to cut $150 million in spending from next year’s budget.The budget gap is an expected result of the end of federal pandemic relief programs, which were meant to help school districts manage the impact on student learning. District leaders have been preparing for this day with analyses of how they spent the money, so they can try to preserve what has been most effective for students.