'We do not wish to participate in media frenzies': Tennessee charter school cuts ties with Hillsdale
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A Chattanooga charter school and Hillsdale College have parted ways amid the fallout from controversial remarks by the Michigan college's president in front of Gov. Bill Lee.
A recently leaked video showed Lee on stage during a private event in Williamson County with Hillsdale President Larry Arnn, who said teachers were trained "in the dumbest parts of the dumbest colleges in the country."
After the comments were first reported by NewsChannel 5 last week, educators, lawmakers and public school supporters have called on the governor to rebuke Arnn's statements. Multiple colleges and universities in Tennessee condemned the comments.
Skillern Elementary school leaders were among them.
"In order to use our time tending to the mission of the school rather than defending ourselves from attempts to mischaracterize our efforts, we have terminated the agreement with Hillsdale that would have allowed us to use a program guide as a planning aid for our teachers," Angie Markum, CEO of the school, said in a Saturday news release, first reported by the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
"We do not wish to participate in media frenzies, because the job of educating students is too important for us to give attention to anything else. We support our teachers and recognize that excellent teachers are ultimately the reason that any school succeeds," Markum said.
Markum did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Tennessean Thursday.
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Earlier this year, Lee announced efforts to formalize a partnership with Hillsdale, a private conservative college in Michigan, to bring more charter schools to the state and strengthen civics education.
Ivy Academy's Skillern Elementary, located in Soddy-Daisy in Hamilton County, is the state's only school on Hillsdale College's "curriculum schools" list.
But Skillern's relationship predated Lee's announcement.
Founders of the school previously said "their curriculum is entirely secular and they do not plan to use the most controversial aspect of the Hillsdale curriculum, a course of civics lessons based on American exceptionalism," the Times Free Press reported last month.
The charter school is set to open this fall and plans to serve more than 400 students in grades K-5 by 2026, according to its charter application.
As a Hillsdale curriculum school, Skillern was granted a license in 2021 to use the school's free “The K-12 Program Guide." The guide "is a comprehensive curriculum scope and sequence for K-12 classical schools," according to Hillsdale officials.
Hillsdale officials confirmed the affiliation between the two institutions was terminated Wednesday but blamed "inaccurate media attention," in a news release Thursday.
"It is regrettable that inaccurate media attention has forced a school to abandon its curriculum," the release said.
Emily Davis, a spokesperson for the college, on Thursday would not speculate on the charter school's decision and defended Arnn's comments.
"Those who heard the conversation in its entirety understood that Dr. Arnn was criticizing the educational bureaucracies that have done teachers and students a great disservice by depriving them of a quality, content-rich education that makes for excellent teaching," Davis said in an email to The Tennessean.
"Gov. Lee attended the event as an invited guest. This was a conversation, not a debate. Dr. Arnn’s remarks are his own, not the governor’s. Friends disagree, and polite listening and uninterruption should never be taken to indicate absolute agreement."
Lee has declined to criticize Arnn's comments. Instead, he has said the remarks were not directed at Tennessee teachers and instead were about "left-wing activism in public education."
He said he fully supports the state's teachers.
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Davis said there are differences between member schools and curriculum schools.
Skillern educators were previously invited to attend Hillsdale's annual summer teacher training, "a privilege usually granted only to Hillsdale Member Schools," Davis said.
At least three of four new charter schools with an emphasis on classical education have proposed to open in Middle Tennessee are Hillsdale-affiliated.
The proposed charter schools have applied to open in Williamson, Rutherford and Montgomery counties.
Hillsdale College has provided stipends to help fund its students who secure internships at The Tennessean.
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Meghan Mangrum covers education for the USA TODAY Network — Tennessee. Contact her at mmangrum@tennessean.com. Follow her on Twitter @memangrum.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Charter school, Hillsdale College cut ties after controversial comments
