Nashville school board again denies five new charter school applications

The Metro Nashville Public Schools Board voted to deny all five revised charter school applications presented to it Tuesday night.

All five schools — Encompass Community School, Nashville School of Excellence, LEAD Cameron Elementary, LEAD Southeast Elementary and Nurses Middle College — were initially denied by the board in April . Charters are allowed to revise their applications and reapply one more time after a denial.

The Tennessee Department of Education sets the evaluation criteria, with ratings of "meets or exceeds, "partially meets" or "does not meet" its standards for schools. The MNPS team in charge of reviewing charter applications looks at the applications and related materials and rates them across four categories:

• Academic plan and design
• Operations plan and capacity
• Financial plan and capacity
• Portfolio review and performance record (when applicable)

From April: Nashville school board denies five new charter applications

The team, a diverse group that includes an external reviewer, then presents a summary to the board ahead of its vote to approve or deny the application. If approved, charter school agreements are good for 10 years and can be renewed. If a charter application is denied twice by the board, it can seek approval from the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission and operate under state governance within the district.

It's not yet clear if the denied schools will apply with the state.

Here's a look at what was said about each denial.

Nurses Middle College

Nurses Middle College reapplied to open a high school with the goal of enrolling 500 students. It is not clear where the school would be located. The school aimed to train future nurses and produce college- and career-ready graduates.

The review team rated the school's proposed academic, operations and financial plans as "partially meets" standards. Since the school is new, the portfolio and performance record category did not apply. The reviewed pointed out shortcomings in meeting required attendance hours, proving enough interest to meet enrollment goals, unrealistic timelines for needed facility renovations and a financial plan that would outsource key administrative tasks and give school leaders limited oversight, among other things.

Five people, including local health leaders and a teenager, spoke in favor of Nurses Middle College, saying it could help empower students to pursue a meaningful career, alleviate an ongoing nursing shortage and create greater diversity in the health field. Board members expressed frustration and confusion over the push for a charter school like Nurses when the district already offers students ample opportunities to explore and study health care through it's Academies of Nashville program.

Board member Emily Masters also cited concerns over the large amount of grant funding in the school's startup budget, which she did not believe would be sustainable once that funding expires. She expressed confusion over why local health leaders were advocating for a new charter school instead of seeking to further collaborate with the district.

Board member Abigail Tylor asked if there was a lack of seats to meet demand in the Academies program or an indication of unmet needs that would necessitate something like a charter school. MNPS Director Adrienne Battle said she was not aware of any such need.

Board member Sharon Gentry abstained from the vote. The board voted unanimously to deny the application. After the vote, Elrod asked members of the crowd to quiet down. They continued to be disruptive, and Elrod asked security to remove them from the room.

Encompass Community School

Encompass Community School reapplied to open a school teaching grades K-8 within the Whites Creek and Pearl-Cohn clusters. The school aimed to enroll 468 students.

The review team rated the school's proposed academic plan as "meets or exceeds" standards while rating its operations and financial plans as "partially meets" standards. Since the school is new, the portfolio and performance record category did not apply.

The review team noted that the school's revised plan included parent responses and additional data on enrollment and demographics, vetted curricula and adequate plans for carrying out its overall mission. However, it also noted shortfalls in the school's plans to meet enrollment targets. It also did not identify site locations for its first three years, barring the review team from analyzing its budget for improvements the space may need. Finally, the team said the school's budgeting and financial plans did not adjust enough for inflation and limited oversight by school leaders.

Five people spoke during the public comment section of the Tuesday meeting in support of Encompass. However, board members echoed the concerns of the review committee as they discussed denying the application.

Gentry, whose district includes the area where Encompass would be, said low enrollment has been a longstanding issue there. She said two schools were recently consolidated due to enrollment issues. She said adding a charter school that would further pull students out of traditional MNPS schools would further hurt those affected by the consolidation and be like "shooting ourselves in the foot."

The board voted 8-1 to deny the application, with Board member Erin O'Hara Block voting against the denial.

Nashville School of Excellence

Nashville School of Excellence reapplied to open a school teaching grades 6-12 in the Nolensville Road area. It aimed to enroll 750 students.

The review team rated the school as "partially meets" standards on all categories: academic, operations and financial, along with consideration of its portfolio and performance record. The team noted numerous deficiencies in the application, including a lack of explanation on how the school's focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, would differ from what other MNPS schools offer. There were also gaps in the school's plans for meeting required attendance hours, funding facilities improvements and hitting enrollment goals. The team pointed out the application included a grant award letter for $20,000 that was for Memphis School of Excellence, not the proposed school. Additionally, the team considered low achievement rates and test scores at Memphis School of Excellence, which would be a sister school to the proposed charter.

Board Chair Rachael Anne Elrod and Board member Berthena Nabaa-McKinney both voiced concerns about the low academic performance at the Memphis school. Elrod also said the proposed school leadership lacked the necessary credentials to lead it.

The board voted unanimously to deny the application.

LEAD Cameron Elementary and LEAD Southeast Elementary

LEAD Cameron Elementary School and LEAD Southeast Elementary School both reapplied to open K-5 schools in southeast Nashville that would operate under the existing LEAD charter operator that has other schools in Nashville. Both aimed to enroll 360 students.

The reviews for both applications were identical, rating the academic plans as "meets or exceeds" standards, while operations and financial plans along with performance and portfolio reviews were rated as "partially meets" standards. The review team said the applications included workable plans for enrollment goals and ways to support students and parents. However, the team said the schools did not adequately address underperformance and enrollment issues at LEAD Brick Church Middle School, or how they would avoid those same issues at new campuses. MNPS recently took over control of the campus.

“I cannot in good conscience vote in favor of … LEAD Cameron after what we just went through with LEAD Brick Church," Nabaa-McKinney said during discussion about the application.

The board voted unanimously to deny the applications for LEAD Cameron Elementary and LEAD Southeast Elementary.

Reach children's reporter Rachel Wegner at RAwegner@tennessean.com or follow her on Twitter @RachelAnnWegner.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville school board again denies five new charter school applications