The Metropolitan Nashville Board of Public Education (MNBPE) School Board rejected the applications of three new charter school start-ups on Tuesday. Pathways in Education, Invictus, and Nashville Collegiate Prep were looking to open up new schools in Nashville.
The schools had their initial applications rejected in April. State law allows for schools whose application is denied to submit an amended application for reconsideration. In reviewing the amended applications, the MNBPE charter review committee applies published evaluation criteria from the Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE). Applicants are scored as meets “standard,” “partially meets standard,” or “does not meet standard” in four categories:
- Academic Plan Design and Capacity
- Operations Plan and Capacity
- Financial Plan and Capacity
- Portfolio Review and Performance Record
The committee found all three applications lacking in every area. However, the potential financial impact on the district was the primary source of concern for board members.
At multiple points, the loss of potential revenue to the district was raised by board members. Particularly how it paired with a lack of perceived benefit from the potential loss of revenue. Former board chair District 5 Board Member Christiane Buggs talked about her child and his school’s needs.
“I struggle to pull money from my own son’s school and the other 32 schools in my district,” said Buggs. “Because that’s where the money comes from.”
The three applications came from different organizations wishing to serve diverse populations.
Dr. Brenda Jones, the founder of Invictus Nashville Charter School, is a Nashville native raised in Cayce Homes. Thanks to a special transfer, she could attend Hillsboro High School in Green Hills instead of her zoned school in East Nashville. She recently told The Tennessee Firefly how her experiences shaped her vision for the charter school.
“The name of my school is ‘Invictus Nashville,’ and if you are familiar with the poem, ‘Invictus’ means ‘unconquerable.’ So, I am very much a Nashville native and I believe that Nashville is an unconquerable city and that is reason for the name,” she said. “I wouldn’t be anywhere else. Nashville is home. It’s exactly where I want to be and I want to invest in my community. This is the place where I had to overcome obstacles to get to where I am today. This is where I’ve had my highs, and this is where I’ve had my lows. And I know there are students and families who are in the same situation as I was as a first-generation high school graduate, trying to figure out what life would be like for them. And I want to be able to be that model.”
The proposed K-8 public charter school would serve families in Donelson and Hermitage. The area is currently part of the McGavock school cluster of Nashville, which is home to the largest high school in Middle Tennessee and ten percent of Metro Nashville Public Schools’ student population.
Their application was denied by a 7-1 vote, with District 1 Board Member Sharon Gentry voting to approve.
Pathways in Education proposed a high school in the Glencliff cluster. It would serve at-risk students and employ a flexible hybrid schedule. Board members remained unconvinced that the proposed schedule was permissible under state law. Their application was denied with an 8 – 0 vote.
The third application came from Nashville College Prep and proposed establishing a college preparatory high school in the Cane Ridge cluster. A primary concern of board members was that Nashville Collegiate Middle School regularly falls short on state academic performance and produces results similar to or below MNPS performance results.
District 2 Board Member Rachel Elrod, who is the board chair, said she had heard families of Nashville Collegiate’s elementary school that they had difficulty reaching teachers and administrators for support. Elrod said that an unnamed councilmember had repeatedly contacted the school to build goodwill and address concerns without success.
The board denied Nashville Collegiate’s application with an 8-0 vote.
The charter operators now have the opportunity to apply to the state charter school commission, which has the power to override the local decision.
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TC Weber is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. He writes the blog Dad Gone Wild. Follow TC on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected]. He’s the proud parent of two public school children and the spouse of a public school teacher.
