Nashville's Online Source for Daily News
Search Site
Board denies all six charter school applicants
All six applicants who sought to open new charters schools in Nashville will have to wait another round.
The Metro Nashville Board of Education voted Tuesday night to disapprove each of this year’s charter school candidates, as members followed the recommendations of Alan Coverstone, the district’s director of charter and private schools.
“Anybody whose built an organization or ever worked in a school knows that it takes a lot of work,” Coverstone said. “So, it’s not a negative judgment on the work they’ve done so far, it’s just a need to do more work.”
Metro school officials have moved the district’s next charter school application deadline to April 1, as opposed to the traditional October deadline. If approved during that cycle, accepted charter schools would open in 2011.
The applicants rejected this time around can apply again, Coverstone said, adding he’s willing to work with each of them to improve their candidacies.
Proposals, which ranged from single-gender to science-based, made up the first round of applicants following the state’s passage of a new law that opened charter enrollment to more students, while raising the number of charter schools permitted in Davidson County to 20.
The six applicants were:
21st Century Learning Academy, a middle school for 5th-8th grade students
Drexel Academy, for K-8th grade students
Metro Prep, an all-boys school for K-12th grade students
Nashville School of Science and Technology, a middle school for 5th-8th grade students
New Vision Academy, an affiliate of Intervention Inc., a middle school for 5th-8th grade students
Smithson-Craighead High School, which would have operated alongside Smithson-Craighead’s elementary and middle schools, already in Nashville
Delicious
Digg
StumbleUpon
Newsvine
Facebook
Twitter
Google
Technorati
Big surprise (NOT)
The fox interviewing other foxes to guard the hen houses.
The State or someone else should be interviewing or better yet let existing private schools expand.
I am delighted that the school board was able to see that these so called charter schools were and are a sham.
Sorry, Frank, but you don't know what you are talking about. I'm not familiar with all of these organizations, but I do know that Smithson-Craighead is "for real." Why do you say that any of these organizations and proposed schools are a sham? Or have you been smoking the teachers union policy papers?
I hope the Board does not feel the same as Mr. Brown. It will
always be hard for Charter's to get a foot hold in this or
anyother county. They are expected to walk in with
less resources and yet provide grandeous plans and policies
to match the public schools even though their dreams are
for a different and hopefully better way to teach the children.
The State Legislature and the TEA will always throw roadblocks
to derail Charter Schools except for the ones copying the
public schools. Both seem to be satisfied, and have for
yrs., with the pathetic status quo even while never
admitting such and continously asking for more dollars.
I'm afraid they are using the current public school system as their litmus test for an appropriate structure, which establishes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
We don't have a school system we have indoctranation centers whos purpose it is to dumb down the kids so they vote for anti-American presidents and other socialists/communist.
As long as the Metro School Board is making the decisions, there'll never be any charter schools.
frank, I agree with the poster that said you dont know what you are talking about.