New research by the Tennessee Charter School Center found public charter school students, including those in Nashville and Memphis, are making more academic progress than their peers in traditional public schools.

In an interview with the Tennessee Firefly’s On the Fly podcast, Rose said he’d be open to tweaks to assessments and evaluations, but believes the state should “keep on keeping on” with both systems that polling has shown Republican voters support.

Commissioners unanimously voted to reverse the Metro Nashville Board of Education’s June decision denying The Rock Academy’s application and upheld the board’s denial of The Forge School on a split 5-3 vote.

Students at The Forge School will begin working on career certifications as early as the sixth grade, and their academic journey will include job shadowing and internships with school partners to help prepare for a career immediately after high school or college.

If approved by the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission, The Rock Academy would open in 2026 with an initial class of 88 freshmen and then add a grade each year.

Statewide, three percent more charter students tested proficient in math on the TCAP than last year and English language arts proficiency grew by a single percentage point.

The proposed sixth through 12th grade public charter school is designed to provide hands-on, real-world learning to students who are interested in careers in architecture, construction, or engineering.

Rocketship Executive Director Eric Dailey tells the Tennessee Firefly that his organization is only planning to appeal the narrow 4-3 decision in Rutherford County to the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission.

The Tennessee Nature Academy held a groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday for its new school building that will open on 23 acres of donated land in Cane Ridge next year.

The vote aligns with a recommendation from the district charter review team that found the school met all state standards.

The research of Tennessee’s more than 100 public charter schools found these students consistently outperformed traditional school peers in math and English language arts following the pandemic.

Board members Tammy Sharp, Katie Darby, Stan Vaught, and Vice-Chair Frances voted in support of Novus SMART, while Chair Claire Maxwell, Butch Vaughn, and Caleb Tidwell voted against it.

Members of the Rutherford County Schools Board of Education denied Rocketship’s application in April, but multiple members encouraged the charter operator to make revisions and resubmit for a vote tonight.

On Thursday, members of the Rutherford County Board of Education will decide whether to approve Jeremy Sager’s application to open Novus SMART Academy (K-8).

The Jackson Museum School would utilize a “museum model” similar to schools in Atlanta and Chattanooga, which infuses subjects like science and math into weekly expeditions to local cultural centers.

For the last five years, students at Valor Collegiate Academy have been able to participate in school-based athletics on Overton High School teams as part of an agreement between the schools.

Attorneys for American Classical Education notified the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission last month that the charter operator had made the “difficult decision” to terminate its agreement signed in March.

The proposed kindergarten through sixth-grade school would operate under a “museum model” that integrates immersive learning experiences into the curriculum.

In years past, district leaders in Nashville have given staff more time to review the sometimes-expansive applications by scheduling charter decisions in the July school board meeting.

Memphis-Shelby County School Board Chair Joyce Dorse Coleman announced Promise Academy Hollywood’s voluntary closure at Tuesday night’s meeting.