Charter school application denied, public comments and application deficiencies discussed

Before the Jackson-Madison County School System ultimately voted against the establishment of an American Classical Academy charter school in Jackson, attendees were given an opportunity to speak, followed by the JMCSS Charter Review Committee's recommendation.

Though not normally allowed at special-called meetings, as noted by JMCSS Board Chairman James Johnson, those who wished to speak were each given a three-minute opportunity to voice their thoughts on American Classical Academy's establishment of a charter school in Jackson.

Among those in the crowd were ACA proponents such as parents and current ACA staff, as well as educators and community members who held signs reading "Vote no" and "Don't defund our public schools, defend them."

Those in favor of ACA, say 'I'

The first to step up to the podium was Phillip Schwenk, vice president with ACA, expressing his hope that the board votes in favor of bringing a charter school as he believes it will "benefit this community greatly."

The Sun spoke to Schwenk after the board's denial of the application, and it remains unclear at this time if ACA intends to make an additional resubmission attempt within the 30-day period they are allotted.

"We know that there's many families here that want this option, and I will always advocate for parents having options," he said. "Of course, we're disappointed, but we'll see what we're going to do. We haven't decided what we're going to do yet, but we'll talk about it with our board to see if we'll either try to reapply or amend the actual application."

A mother of three children, among others, expressed concerns over graduation rates and lack of reading proficiency among students, as well as teacher retention rates within the school system.

And those opposed

North Side High School teacher Alyssa Pearman spoke before the school board, noting that trauma plays a significant factor in a student's ability to be successful in school and that teachers must meet students "where they are" emotionally in order to grow them academically.

"I took it as this charter school was in response to 'let's remove kids who are a problem,'" she said. "Sometimes we have to meet their basic needs first before we can teach them anything, that's how the brain works. We were given all these numbers which shows we are in a deficit, but there also isn't consideration for what these children go through at very young ages."

Pearman noted that the statistics presented in both ACA's presentation and by the mother in favor of a charter school, do not take into account how home life could affect educational achievement.

"I could have a rough morning on testing day and be a straight-A student, and bomb that test," she said. "What does that mean? My career is worthless now? That's nonsense. I feel like one thing they did well was use numbers against us, because the numbers don't lie, but numbers don't exactly shed light on every truth either, so I think that's very important."

An educator for seven years, she explained that she has a three-year-old child who she considers every day which classroom he will be in and if he will be given the love he deserves because that's the philosophy she employs towards her own students.

"I'm very pleased with this decision because we're thinking of the future for the longevity of students," Pearman said.

President of the Jackson-Madison County NAACP Branch Harrell Carter also spoke in opposition to bringing a charter school to the Jackson area. Among his points was the misdirection of pointed fingers at everyone except the school system that students go through.

"In terms of a charter school concept, there's a Vanderbilt study that says there's not a whole lot to talk about in terms of charter schools, they did their study several years ago," he said. "We talk about the Nashville School Board who did a study basically reaching that same conclusion. As I take a look across the lot, charter school is no better than public school."

Strengths and weaknesses

JMCSS Chief Innovation Officer Theresa McSweeney presented alongside JMCSS Chief Compliance and Monitoring Officer Patrice Martin, both of whom served on the Charter Review Committee.

Had the application been approved, ACA would launch its charter school in the fall of 2024.

Martin presented both the strengths and deficiencies of the charter's application for the board's review, beginning with the first section, Academic Plan Design and Capacity. Among the strengths included:

• measurable goals based on ACA's mission statement

• the academic calendar meets state requirements and provides staff development opportunities that exceed state requirements

• a detailed code of conduct and disciplinary section in the proposed ACA handbook

Deficiencies tripled in number comparatively to the strengths and included the following:

• lack of evidence demonstrating ACA curriculum meets state standards

• no explicit plan for how the targeted student population will be addressed

• lack of rigor in curriculum

• no mention of a specific science curriculum

• lack of instruction materials provided for special education students (Tier III students as designated by ACA)during Response to Intervention (RTI)

• no benchmark assessment that determines which tier a student falls into

• eligibility timeline that does not meet state criteria

In the second section, Operations Plan and Capacity, the number of deficiencies also outweighed the strengths. Strengths included:

• a board with with diverse qualifications

• the security of insurance requirements

• the hiring of a school principal a year prior to opening

Deficiencies more than quadrupled the number of strengths in this section, including, but not limited to:

• no determined location for the charter school and no plan for the financial acquisition of one

• no detailed school safety and crisis plan

• no detailed plan for funding of technology

• lack of commitment to providing transportation, unless it is "affordable and it significantly increases access to economically disadvantaged families"

• lack of a plan to support, develop, or evaluate teachers as required by state standards

• a projected goal by ACA to open five charter schools in Tennessee, despite not having experience opening a charter school

What happens next?

American Classical Academy will have 30 days to either amend or resubmit its application for a proposed charter, and the school board will have a 60-day period to review and come to a decision.

As five school districts across Tennesse gathered this week to accept or deny ACA's application, Madison County comes as the fourth to reject the charter school model proposed by ACA.

This article originally appeared on Jackson Sun: Jackson-Madison Co. school board denies ACA charter for 2nd time