Chattanooga All-Boys Charter School Plans To Open New Location In Knoxville

Image Credit: knoxvilleprep.org

The Tennessee Conservative [By Jason Vaughn] –

The Chattanooga Preparatory School team has plans to open an all-boys public charter school in another East Tennessee city.

The CEO of Chatt Prep, Brad Scott, hopes by 2024 to have expanded its learning model to Knoxville, the planned placement for the new tuition-free charter school.

“Just like Knox County Schools, we want what’s best for students and we are not in competition with Knox County Schools. Knox County School is doing great things. We want to work with Knox County Schools by providing a choice for families,” Scott told Wate.com.

At the opening of the new school, Knox Prep, will start by serving 6th grade students only. Each year, an older grade level will be added until grades 6-12 are represented at the school. Just like the Prep school in Chattanooga, the school’s mission is to serve young men. 

“Engage young men in a rigorous nurturing environment that prepares them to go to and through college, graduate college and obtain excellent careers one day in their future,” Scott said.

According to Chatt Prep’s dean of students and football coach, the boys-only model is helping to close the achievement gap and better outcomes are being provided. 

“I think all boys are necessary right now, especially in the society that we live in. Right now, women are winning at a higher rate, and we can continue to build our young men, which will help build more of a society we would love to be in,” Joe Banks said.

Scott wishes for Knox Prep to be a community-led school. Community engagement will be the main focus of Knox Prep, and it will be achieved through partnerships and mentorships that will hopefully set students up for success. 

“We want to know our kids. We want to nurture them. We want to know our parents and ensure that we are growing intentionally and growing as a family and as a team,” Scott said.

Scott says the plan is to submit a charter in April of 2023 to the Knox County School board to get approval. 

Families interested in enrolling students can visit knoxvilleprep.org to learn more. 

About the Author: Jason Vaughn, Media Coordinator for The Tennessee Conservative  ~ Jason previously worked for a legacy publishing company based in Crossville, TN in a variety of roles through his career.  Most recently, he served as Deputy Director for their flagship publication. Prior, he was a freelance journalist writing articles that appeared in the Herald Citizen, the Crossville Chronicle and The Oracle among others.  He graduated from Tennessee Technological University with a Bachelor’s in English-Journalism, with minors in Broadcast Journalism and History.  Contact Jason at news@TennesseeConservativeNews.com