Become more knowledgeable about the education reform landscape. Learn how to better advocate on behalf of your child(ren)

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1 Tennessee

2 Become more knowledgeable about the education reform landscape Learn how to better advocate on behalf of your child(ren)

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6 Education Choices in Tennessee Public Schools Tennessee public schools educate students throughout 137 school districts and more than 1,700 public schools across the state. To find contact information for a district or school, search the school directory. Charter Schools Charter schools are operated by independent, non-profit governing bodies and are offered in some school districts. For more information, including answers to frequently asked questions, see the charter schools page. Non-Public Schools Non-public schools include accredited private schools, church schools, special purpose schools and more. Additional information and an updated list of more than 600 non-public schools in Tennessee is available on the non-public schools page. Home Schools The Tennessee Home School Law gives parents the right to educate their K-12 student at home. The law gives parents the following options for home schooling: Independent Home School - Parents may home school their own children pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated by registering with their local school district. The law states that independent home school students must: Provide annual notice to the local director of schools prior to each school year of the parent-teacher s intent to conduct a home school and, for the purpose of reporting only, submission to the director of schools of the names, number, ages and grade levels of the children to be home schooled, the location of the school, the proposed curriculum to be offered, the proposed hours of instruction and the qualifications of the parent-teacher. Maintain attendance records and submit these records to the Director of Schools at the end of each school year; and Submit proof of vaccination and receipt of any health services or examinations as required by law. 5

7 Parents choosing this educational option should begin by contacting the local school district. Church-related Umbrella School - By authority of the same statute, parents may also home school their own children by registering with a church-related umbrella school defined by Tennessee Code Annotated Parents who choose this option will be required to provide evidence to the local school district that their child is enrolled in a church-related school. An Intent to Home School form is not required for students who enrolled in a church-related school. The church-related school will determine record keeping and test requirements for students enrolled in an umbrella program. Accredited Online School - Parents may also enroll their child in an accredited online school. Parents choosing this educational option must be sure to determine that the school has legitimate accreditation status and will be required to provide evidence to the local school district that their child is enrolled in an accredited online school. Safe Schools Choice Policy* The Tennessee Department of Education Safe Schools Choice Policy allows students who are victims of a violent crime and students who attend a persistently dangerous school to opt out and transfer to a safer school environment within their school district. All public schools and school systems in Tennessee are subject to the policy. The local education agency is responsible for providing transportation options to transferring students. Criteria for a persistently dangerous school is as follows: When the sum of three specified categories of zero tolerance violations and incidents of student victimization grows higher than 3% of the school s enrollment for three (3) consecutive years. Students attending a persistently dangerous school must be provided Safe School Choice until the school s persistently dangerous designation has been removed. 6

8 Charter schools are public schools. Tennessee s charter school law states that public charter schools are part of the state public education system and receive public funding through the Basic Education Program. Charter schools are opened after reaching an agreement with the local school district. Test scores and performance results from charter school students count toward the results of the school district they are a part of. Charter schools meet a need in Tennessee. Parents and students across Tennessee are met with a range of quality in public school options. Many find only low-performing schools that do not meet the needs of students. Charter schools in Tennessee have proven that they can provide quality educations for any student. In fact, a 2013 study by the CREDO Foundation found that charter school students in Tennessee gained the equivalent of 86 additional days of learning in reading and 72 additional days of learning in mathematics per year. Charter schools are able to improve learning for all students and help close the achievement gap by encouraging the use of innovative teaching methods, providing greater decision making authority to schools and teachers in exchange for greater responsibility and student performance, creating new professional opportunities for teachers, and affording parents meaningful, substantial opportunities to participate in the education of their children. Charter schools are open to any and all students. Tennessee charter schools are not allowed to recruit students based on ability or performance, nor are they allowed to turn away students for any reason. Like any other public schools, charter schools provide learning opportunities for students of all abilities, and achieve strong results with their full student populations, among them special needs, gifted, and English Language Learners. Until 2011, Tennessee s charter school law limited charter schools to serving at-risk students, and the large majority of students entering charter schools continue to come from this population. On average, charter school students enter these schools behind grade level in many or all subjects. Charter schools, as public schools, are funded through the Basic Education Program. Charter schools do not charge tuition. They are free for students in their school districts to attend. 7

9 Public school students are each allotted an amount of funding through the Basic Education Program. When these students go to a public charter school, this funding follows each student to their new school. Charter schools demonstrate efficiency in utilizing these funds as, in addition to standard costs of operating a school, charter schools in Tennessee are not granted facilities or funding for facilities as traditional public schools are, and spend an average of 20 percent of their budgets on facilities. When a student leaves a traditional public school, the funds they take with them do also leave that school, but through budgeting with a long-term outlook, school systems can focus on funding quality educations for all students as opposed to funding long-standing infrastructures. Charter schools, in function, are different than traditional public schools. Charter schools are characterized by high expectations and thus strong student motivation, as well as frequent and quality teacher development, and frequent and impactful parent communication and parent support. Charter schools are also characterized by innovations such as extended school days and school years and unique curriculums. Charter schools were created with the vision that every child should have access to a quality education. As such, they are designed to focus on the needs of students, not adults. Charter schools are evaluated on how well they meet the student achievement goals established by their charter contract. Charter schools must also demonstrate that they can meet rigorous fiscal and managerial standards. If a charter school cannot perform up to established standards, it can be closed by the charter authorizer. Tennessee s charter schools are proving that when the focus is truly on the students and programs are designed to help them succeed, no matter what, students and their families win. Charter schools give families an opportunity to choose the school that best suits their child s educational well-being. Moreover, teachers, staff, and the principal have an opportunity to create and work at schools where they have the power to directly shape the learning environment and atmosphere that best serves the unique needs of their student population. While charter schools must adhere to many of the laws and regulations that govern traditional district public schools, they are freed from the bureaucracy that often diverts a school s energy and resources away from the mission of the school. As a result, charter school leaders can focus all of their efforts on settling and reaching high academic standards for their students. Charter schools provide strong, safe communities where parents and students can trust that a safe environment opens the door for a focus on learning. 8

10 Charter schools are able to seek out the most efficient transportation plan for students. Charter schools are required to notify parents about transportation provisions. If charter schools choose to provide students transportation through the local education agency, an agreement shall be made with the local education agency to do so. If charter schools identify a more cost effective means of transportation outside of the local education agency, the charter school receives funding that would have been spent with the local education agency to put towards that method. If the charter school does not provide transportation, they do not receive funds from the local education agency that would have gone towards transporting their students. Teachers at charter schools must be certified under the same qualifications as traditional public school teachers. Teachers at charter schools must meet the qualifications of T.C.A part 1 (regarding personnel) and must be licensed to teach in the public school system in compliance with the rules and regulations of the state board of education. Teachers are not assigned to charter schools. Because choice is a founding principle for charter schools, school leaders are able to recruit and hire their own staffs, and teachers are able to decide if they want to work in a charter school. Charter schools are not subject to school zones within a district, and are open to any student within the school district. The Tennessee charter school law allows for any student within the jurisdiction of the local education agency (the authorizer of the charter school) to attend a charter school. Students who live outside of the school district overseen by the charter school s authorizer may be eligible to attend the school in accordance with the authorizing district s out-of-district enrollment policy. If a charter school has more applicants than enrollment capacity allows it to accept, preference must be given to applicants in the following order: Pupils who attended a public school that converted to a charter school in the previous school year. Pupils who attended public schools within the school district in which the charter school is located, if those pupils would otherwise be included in the area in which the charter school will focus. 79

11 Children residing in the school district but not enrolled in charter schools. Children who live outside of the school district but whose needs are included in the area in which the charter school will focus. Charter schools offer a range of extracurricular and enrichment activities. The extracurricular and enrichment activities available at charter schools will be unique depending on the school. Some charter schools offer competitive sports teams such as basketball, track, cross country, or lacrosse. Many schools offer programs such as debate teams, choirs, step teams, model United Nations, and drama clubs. 10

12 MEMPHIS Charter Schools Growing parent demand: In 2003, four Memphis charter schools opened to serve 175 students. Since then, charter schools have grown exponentially due to overwhelming parent demand for high-quality public school options. Current landscape: Today, there are more than 10,500 students enrolled in 48 charter schools in Memphis. The city is now one of the top 50 school districts in the nation for charter school enrollment, according to the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. Student achievement: In 2012, the Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) at Stanford University found that 10 charter schools in Memphis outperformed traditional neighborhood schools. Those schools were: Power Center Academy High Freedom Preparatory Academy Promise Academy Power Center Middle Academy Veritas College Prep Star Academy Circles of Success Learning Academy KIPP Memphis Collegiate Middle Soulsville Memphis Academy of Health Sciences High School On average, Tennessee charter school students receive a better education than their peers in district schools. According to CREDO, Tennessee s charter school students gained the equivalent of an additional 86 days of learning in reading and 72 days in mathematics in comparison to their traditional public school counterparts. These results were among the highest of all states studied. The Achievement School District (ASD) The Achievement School District was created through President Obama s Race to the Top initiative, won by Tennessee in 2010 By law, a statewide public school district, with authority to select and turn around any school on the state s Priority List (85 schools statewide, 69 in Memphis) 711

13 Goal is to move the bottom 5% of schools in the state to the top 25% in five years. All schools are either neighborhood schools (keep attendance zones) or new starts that serve only kids zoned to bottom 5% schools The ASD can authorize charters or run schools directly. Five schools are directly run by the ASD the Achievement Schools in Frayser and 17 are run by charter operators Priority Schools are the lowest-performing 5 percent of schools in Tennessee, in terms of academic achievement. These 85 schools are eligible for inclusion in the Achievement School District or in district Innovation Zones; some of them have already joined the ASD s portfolio of schools or are involved in the school matching process for the next school year. They may also plan and adopt turnaround models for school improvement. I-ZONE (INNOVATION ZONE) The izone is a special subset of SCS schools that implements one of four state-approved turnaround models in order to improve student achievement. Turnaround Model Restart Closure Transformation There are fifty- nine (59) schools in SCS that are considered Priority Schools. These schools are defined as schools that fall in the bottom 5% of schools in the state. All i-zone schools will be required to adopt one of four turnaround models outlined by the state. I-ZONE Schools (17) Cherokee Elementary Douglass K-8 Fairley Elementary Ford Road Elementary Lucie E Campbell ES Magnolia Elementary Grandview Heights Middle Trezevant High Melrose High 12

14 Hamilton High Treadwell Elementary Chickasaw Middle Geeter Middle Hamilton Middle Riverview Middle Sherwood Middle Treadwell Middle There are 24,000 students comprised of the 59 Priority Schools in Memphis & Shelby County. Shelby County Schools I-Zone has 17 schools and the ASD has 22. That leaves 20 schools without turnaround plans and too many students stuck in chronically underperforming schools. 713

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