Proposed charter connected to Hillsdale College faces more questions about how it would serve students with special needs

For the straight second day, board members with American Classical Education (ACE) faced tough questions about how their proposed public charter school would serve low-income students and those with special needs.At a public hearing in Jackson Thursday morning, administrators with the Jackson-Madison County School System told the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission that ACE’s application to establish the American Classical Academy Madison had no plan to support struggling students and those with disabilities.“The question still remains unanswered as to how American Classical Academy Madison will provide a continuum of services for students with disabilities,” said Deputy Superintendent Dr. Vivian C. Williams. “The plan lacks clarity on how students with disabilities as well as English Language Learners will receive direct services.”Thursday’s hearing in Jackson follows Wednesday’s public hearing in Murfreesboro with the charter commission. The organization has another hearing scheduled for Friday in Clarksville.American Classical Education is asking the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission to overturn its rejected charter applications in Madison, Montgomery, and Rutherford County.  Each district voted ACE down in July following public outcry over the organization’s connections to Michigan based Hillsdale College and controversial statements President Larry Arnn made about teachers on hidden video.Williams says her school district in Madison County also had major concerns with the proposed school’s curriculum. She says its primary focus on Anglo Saxon, European, and Wester Civilization isn’t a good fit for a county with a population that's 58% African American and 9% Hispanic.“The curriculum choice does not reflect the diversity or culture of the Jackson-Madison County School System or the larger community,” said Williams.In Thursday’s hearing, ACE pushed back against the district’s concerns. The organization says it does have a plan for students who have special learning needs and board chair Dolores Gresham says its Classical Education model will improve test scores.”Our curriculum has consistently achieved student proficiencies in ELA and math across diverse student groups and ranks between 55 and 80 percent, far above the most recent TCAP scores of 23 percent proficiency in LEA and 16 percent proficiency in math in the local school system,” said Gresham.Local parents also spoke out in support of the proposed charter, including one mother who says it’s needed to address English Language Arts (ELA) deficiencies.“The Jackson-Madison County school system is simply not producing strong readers.  Since 2015 especially our student ELA scores precipitously declined,” said Brandelyn Taylor. “This is indicative of a system that is simply not working.”Multiple parents also defended the Classical Education model American Classical Education plans to establish at the school.  ACE says under that model all students will study literature and mathematics, history and the sciences, the fine arts, Latin, and physical education.“My wife and I first witnessed this and saw our children blossom under this model,” said Sean Higgins. “We desire for our kids to have this opportunity to be back studying under the classical model.”“I tell you that we desperately need a curriculum like what American Classical Academy offers,” said Glen Gaugh. “You have only look at the society around us today, the violence, the lack of virtue, decorum to see that more students need the option to learn in a classical setting.”The hearing also included a lot of discussion about the leadership overseeing the proposed school.ACE repeated earlier comments distancing itself from Hillsdale and Gresham says the governing board has grown to include one member from Madison County.“Every one of these people are Tennessee residents.  Every one of these people are successful,” said Gresham. “They seek neither fame nor fortune but are only laser focused on bringing classical education to the children and families of Tennessee.”Jackson-Madison County continues to question how connected ACE actually is to the area.District leaders say they were unaware of any local members on the ACE governing board and they worry American Classical Academy Madison’s families will be neglected if the school is approved.“As of the last notification, only two board members are even from this geographic region.  As a result, parents will not have a single governing body representative that resides in Madison County," said Williams. "Therefore parents may have a difficult time engaging with any of the governing body on key issues that affect the students and the school.”The charter commission plans to decide each of ACE's appeals next month.