Every Democrat on the Knox County School Board declined to support a school praised as a “model” charter school for its work serving students of color

Board Members John Butler (left), Katherine Bike (center left), Patricia Fontenot-Ridley (center right), Anne Templeton (right) (Photo by Knox County Schools)

The Knox County Schools Board of Education voted to keep the district’s first public charter school open for another ten-year term Thursday night, but not without renewing questions for how supportive members will be of charters moving forward. Charter schools are free public schools operated by an independent contract or “charter” with an authorizing agency like a school district or the state. 

The district’s charter committee that reviewed Emerald Academy’s ten-year history in Knoxville and recommended approval of a new contract, praising the K-8 grade school as a “model” charter school that “effectively addresses areas of deficiency and achievement gaps to ensure academic success is achieved by all students.”  Emerald Academy’s elementary school students outperformed the nearest district-run elementary school in every subject on recent state testing and the school itself received an equal or better School Letter Grade than the district run elementary and middle schools zoned for the same area of Knoxville. Emerald Academy also serves a higher percentage of students of color (86 percent) than either school.

Students at Emerald Academy (Photo by Emerald Academy)

All five Republican members of the board voted in favor of following the district’s charter committee recommendation of approval for a new ten-year contract, but the board’s four Democrats took a different path.

District 3 Board Member Patricia Fontenot-Ridley voted against renewal while District 1 Board Member John Butler, District 2 Board Member Anne Templeton, and District 4 Board Member Katherine Bike all opted to pass on voting.

 Following the vote, Emerald Academy leaders put out a news release praising the board’s decision.

“We are thrilled with the outcome of the vote,” said Emerald Charter Schools’ President Steve Diggs. “Since opening Emerald Academy in 2015, we have been committed to providing young people — especially those from our city neighborhoods — with an opportunity to alter their academic trajectory. On behalf of Emerald Academy’s faculty and staff, I want to express my gratitude to Knox County Schools and the board for their support. We look forward to the next 10 years and staying faithful to our mission: to prepare urban scholars for the college of their choice and community leadership.”

Contentious charter history

Knox County Schools has just one other public charter school operating in the district and the 2023 vote to approve Knox Prep was contentious. Both Bike and Butler opposed Knox Prep and continued to work against efforts to establish the school once approved, despite the school founders’ history of success serving students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.

Bike additionally faced criticism during the approval process for making comments towards a student from related charter school Chattanooga Prep and his immigrant family that some considered insensitive.

Board members will not be voting on any new charters this year as Knox County Schools was not among the school districts that received letters of intent from groups hoping to open one.

Sky Arnold

Sky serves as the Managing Editor of the Tennessee Fireflly. He’s a veteran television journalist with two decades of experience covering news in Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, and Tennessee where he covered government for Fox 17 News in Nashville and WBBJ in Jackson. He’s a graduate of the University of Oklahoma and a big supporter of the Oklahoma Sooners.