The Forge School Offers a Solution to Nashville’s Architecture, Construction, and Engineering Needs

Stock image of students learning on a construction site (Photo by Adobe Stock)

This story was initially published on August 7, 2025 and updated on August 26, 2025 with new information about the appeal.

Derrick Williams says an important moment in his proposed public charter school’s creation came when he shared the details of The Forge School with his daughter.

Williams says she wants to be an architect and immediately saw the potential of a school that’s designed to provide hands-on, real-world learning to students who are interested in careers in architecture, construction, or engineering.

“I saw the excitement on her face,” said Williams. “Literally, she said if this was in place when I was in sixth grade, seventh grade, I definitely would have gone to a school like that.”

Derrick Williams (right) and Sara Tuttle (left) (Photo by The Forge School)

Williams and Forge co-founder Sara Tuttle met when both were administrators in Metro Nashville Public Schools’ (MNPS) social-emotional learning program. He says the pair always knew they worked well together, and began working on the framework of a sixth through twelfth grade public charter school to meet a specific employment need in Middle Tennessee in the architecture, construction, and engineering fields. Charter schools are free public schools operated under a “charter” with a school district or the state.

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 high-earning career immediately after high school or college. Williams says the career-embedded learning will allow students to graduate with credentials or pathway options that lead to careers with wages of $75,000 and above, on average.

“There is a high demand for these jobs, and they don’t have enough people to fill the positions,” said Williams. “We just wanted to provide an opportunity for students to, one, get an early start and an early introduction into an industry that they may not have known about …or maybe they did know about it, but they would have to wait either until high school or college to get a better understanding or get exposure to these fields.”

Forging a New Education Path

Although MNPS does have some schools that offer programs in architecture, construction, or engineering, none encompass all three. Williams says the difference is important because these areas intertwine, and exposure to each will make students more valuable to future employers.

Additionally, teachers at The Forge School will blend concepts of architecture, construction, and engineering into other subjects.

“History will not just be history; they may be learning about the history of architecture. They may be learning about the history of engineering,” said Williams. “I think the whole idea of contextualized learning, that project-based learning, offering real-world work-based learning opportunities for students, is one of the other things that will make us unique.”

Appeal to be Decided This Week

Members of the Metro-Nashville Public Schools Board of Education denied the Forge’s application to open the school in June, prompting Williams and Tuttle to appeal to the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission.

That board held a public hearing earlier this month for parents and other supporters to make the case for the school, and leaders provided updated information this week to address specific concerns presented by Commission Executive Director Tess Stovall.

Stovall questioned whether the Forge’s enrollment plan of opening with an initial sixth and ninth grade class and then growing by two grades a year could provide the necessary revenue to support the school. The Forge’s leaders believe they need to enroll at least 95 percent of their targeted enrollment to operate sustainably. The school plans to recruit five to 10 percent above the enrollment targets to account for potential attrition.

Education advocacy organization Tennesseans for Student Success additionally updated its Quality Charter Review (QCR) of The Forge this week to include new operational and financial details for the commission to consider. QCR reviewers recommend approval for the school, citing a financial plan that “demonstrates a commitment to sustainability” by having secured 65 percent of the needed fundraising for the first five years.

Additionally, The Forge is committing to starting new teachers at $63,662 with annual three percent increases. The school has also budgeted for up to 12 teachers providing tutoring for two hours per day, for 28 weeks in the academic year at $30 per hour, to support its academic plan for additional support needs for students.

QCR reviewers say overall, the school’s application demonstrates a clear plan for implementing the proposed mission and vision of the school in sustainable way and in a community with sufficient need.

The Tennessee Firefly is a product of and supported by Tennesseans for Student Success.

If commissioners overturn the MNPS decision, The Forge School will open for an initial class of sixth and ninth graders in August 2026.