Board denies 2 applications, including second Nashville Classical Charter School
Meghan MangrumThe Metro Nashville Board of Education denied two charter school applications Tuesday, kicking off what has become a process of denials and appeals for those hoping to open charter schools in the city.
Despite meeting or partially meeting the standards required to open, an application to open a new dual-language K-8 school in South Nashville and an application to establish “Nashville Classical Charter School II” were both denied.
The dual-language school, Aventura Community School, proposed providing instruction in English and Spanish for about 930 students starting with the 2022-23 school year.
But the district's Office of Charter Schools found the application did not provide enough evidence that it could support students with disabilities or provide intervention services. Board members, including Gini Pupo-Walker, agreed that number of students who speak Spanish or would be interested in the dual curriculum is continuing to grow in Nashville.
The operator of Nashville Classical Charter School, a successful school in East Nashville, also submitted an application to establish a new K-8 school in the Hillwood cluster. The area is home to high-achieving schools, including Gower Elementary, Harpeth Valley Elementary, Charlotte Park Elementary and H.G. Hill Middle School.
Board member Abigail Tylor, who represents the area, adamantly opposed the launch of the new school.
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Tylor argued that families in the area would not want to enroll.
“Where it is located is part of the reason why you would approve or deny," Tylor said during Tuesday's school board meeting. "District 9 does not want a charter school. They will not attend. So capacity will be a problem. And that has nothing to do with whether or not your school is good."
Tylor argued her district’s schools are more likely to be reward schools or schools that show high student achievement and growth.
Charter schools historically were meant to fill in the gaps or even take over priority schools where students are consistently underperforming.
Despite an impassioned speech from board chair Christiane Buggs, the board's debate was more productive than charter school debates have been, several board members and district officials said later.
Buggs expressed concerns about whether transporting students of color — many of the district's lowest-performing schools serve mostly minority students — to other areas of the city to attend successful charter schools would exacerbate racial disparities in the district.
Board member John Little, one of the sole proponents for school choice on the board, abstained from the vote on Nashville Classic Charter School II because his son attends Nashville Classical.
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The board's denials come as a new appeals process goes into effect in Tennessee. Previously, charter school operators could take their appeals to the State Board of Education if they were denied a second time by a local school board.
Beginning in January, charter school sponsors began appealing to the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission, established by Gov. Bill Lee in 2019.
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Meghan Mangrum covers education for the USA TODAY Network — Tennessee. Contact her at mmangrum@tennessean.com. Follow her on Twitter @memangrum.