School Districts Vote Down Charter Schools In Metro Nashville & Rutherford County

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The Tennessee Conservative [By Rebecca Scott] –

Rutherford County Schools and Metro Nashville Public Schools have both recently denied applications for new charter schools within their districts.

In Rutherford County, Novus SMART Academy, which would serve grades K-8 in the LaVergne and Smyrna area, was denied. At full capacity, Novus SMART would serve 990 students. While the school board has currently rejected this new charter school, it wasn’t without encouragement that Novus SMART may be approved in the future if it meets certain criteria. The school board is requesting more clarification on the proposed school’s plans and proof that their curriculum and strategies will be more rigorous and effective than other schools within the district.

The Novus SMART model focuses on Science, Math, Arts/Electives, Research, and Technology.

Meanwhile, in Davidson County, MNPS has denied the applications for 5 new charter schools. The Tennessee Department of Education sets the guidelines for charter schools, and if a school board determines that the charter application does not sufficiently meet the criteria, the school is denied.

The application for Nurses Middle College was denied mostly over concerns that its sole focus is to train students who will be entering the field of healthcare. While MNPS already has a school called the Academies of Nashville that offers students many career path options and the flexibility to change paths, school board members were not prepared to approve Nurses Middle College because they believe it could cause too much competition with Academies and with local public school career path options.

Encompass Community School’s application was also shot down in MNPS due to lack of information and evidence within the proposal.

Nashville School of Excellence was denied for multiple reasons, including the D rating that the Memphis School of Excellence has received from the state. That school would have served the Nolensville Road area and enrolled about 750 students.

Finally, two LEAD schools were rejected which would have served elementary students in grades K-5. According to the school board’s assessment, the applications lacked planning for English language learners and serving students with disabilities, among other shortcomings.

Most of the applications were voted down unanimously in MNPS, except for Nurses, where school board member Sharon Gentry withheld her vote.

Rebecca Scott is a Tennessee resident and reporter for The Tennessee Conservative. You can reach Rebecca at Rebecca@tennesseeconservativenews.com