Metro Nashville Attempts To Deny Another Charter School

Image Credit: Invictus Nashville Charter School

The Tennessee Conservative [By Rebecca Scott] –

A former Metro Nashville Public School teacher and Tennessee native, Dr. Brenda Jones, has set out to open a new Montessori style charter school in the Metro Nashville school district. But as parents and legislators are increasingly aware of the importance of school choice and competitive educational options, a Metro Nashville Board of Education member and a district employee attempted to derail the plans for the new school.

Dr. Jones had already had the application for her school, Invictus Nashville Charter School, a school designed to serve students in elementary through eighth grade, denied by the Metro Nashville Board of Education.

In response, she appealed to the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission. As the commission was scheduled to reach a decision on the appeal, parents from another local charter school were encouraged to complain about the possibility of a new school coming to the area.

Sarah Blanchard, the Dean of Instruction at Stanford Montessori Elementary School, part of the Metro Nashville Public Schools, sent out an email to some of the parents of students at her school asking them to contact the commission and oppose the establishment of Invictus Nashville Charter School.

She directed parents to talking points forwarded from Board of Education member, Dr. Berthena Nabaa-McKinney. The information indicated that there was no need for a new school in the McGavock area, that there may not be proper training to assume the Montessori name, and that there was concern that funds would be taken from existing schools and reallocated to the new school.

Dr. Jones expressed concern that these talking points were unfounded and misleading. She also indicated that she was not looking to take students from Stanford into Invictus, but rather is looking to provide opportunity for school choice to other families interested in the Montessori style of learning.

While MNPS supports Stanford’s Dean’s use of school hours to contact parents to oppose Invictus while utilizing School Board misinformation to do so, Dr. Jones is concerned that politics, not actual concern for solid education, was the driving force behind the push to deny the establishment of the new school.

In spite of the complaints received, the Tennessee Public Charter Schools commissioners voted unanimously to approve Invictus Nashville Charter School. 

In the past three years, the MNPS Board of Education has not approved a single application for new charter schools. So far, five of those applicants have gone on to gain approval from the Charter School Commission. 

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