Members of the Rutherford County School (RCS) Board recently turned down an application for a new charter school.
Officials with the Nashville-based ReThink Forward first sought to open a school in the Smyrna-La Vergne area in February, according to The Murfreesboro Post.
The Tennessee Star reached out to all seven RCS School Board members this week for comment to ask why they rejected ReThink Forward’s application. None of the school board members responded. One or more RCS School Board members, however, deferred our questions to school system spokesman James Evans.
“Our School Board voted on the charter school application at its October 14, 2021, meeting after an extensive review and report by our instruction department,” Evans said.
According to the minutes of the October 14 meeting, board members voted unanimously to reject the charter school.
According to the Nashville-based FOX 17, The Noble Education Initiative manages operations for schools governed by ReThink Forward.
Noble Education Initiative President Richard Page told The Star on Thursday that the charter school that his organization wants to build would cater to kindergarteners through eighth-graders. Students and teachers, Page said, would collaborate in an open space.
“All the kids work, and the teachers collaborate. This is instead of having three first-grade classes where there is a classroom and a classroom and a classroom,” Page said.
“In our model they all work together, and there is a common area where they all have small, individualized instruction based on need. The teachers collaborate throughout the day and do different activities with the kids in smaller group settings instead of it just being a traditional classroom setting. It’s very personalized.”
Page said school board members didn’t meet with him or members of his organization. He said he and members of his group didn’t get an opportunity to answer questions or offer feedback.
Page said the matter is on appeal to the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission.
– – –
Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
