Enrollment in U.S. schools was fairly steady between 2021 and 2022, but the number of K-12 students remained below pre-pandemic levels, according to new federal data released Monday.The release, from the National Center for Education Statistics, shows that with nearly 50 million students, enrollment was still 2% less than 2019 figures. Only Idaho and North Dakota saw enrollment increase about 2% over that time period, while multiple states, including California, Mississippi and New York saw declines of at least 5%.

Victavia Walls says she made the wrong choice in middle school to temporarily leave LEAD Brick Church for her traditionally zoned Metro Nashville school. She's among the nearly half a dozen parents and students who shared their experiences to support LEAD Brick Church's effort to remain open as a public charter school.

A decade ago, it would have been hard to picture Janet Bravo working at a public charter school, much less leading the startup of one.Bravo says back then she had an unflattering vision of public charter schools in her mind, but made the decision to join IDEA public schools in 2014, serving as an academic counselor in one of the network’s underperforming schools in Texas.

Natoria Carpenter says she chose to drive her daughter thirty miles each day to the opposite side of Memphis just to attend Vision Preparatory Charter School.Carpenter was among the crowd of current and former parents who attended Tuesday night’s Memphis-Shelby County School Board meeting to provide support for the public charter school’s request for a new ten-year charter with the district.

The Memphis-Shelby County School Board unanimously voted Tuesday to establish a special council to help guide decisions about public charter schools.The new Charter Partnership Council will provide feedback and make recommendations to the board to ensure continued accountability and access to high-quality public charter schools for the Memphis community.

When the top three candidates for superintendent of Memphis-Shelby County Schools make their final cases to community and board members later this week, they will not only be explaining their leadership and academic successes, but also proving how well they can get to know a new community.The school board’s current attempt at a national search for superintendent has produced three out-of-state finalists, positioning the district to have its first leader from outside Memphis in more than a decade. While new-to-town leaders have helmed Memphis public schools in the past, internal candidates have been favored in the last decade.

Tennessee House members are holding off making the first vote on a controversial bill that would only allow classrooms to display the Tennessee state flag and United States of America flag. The bill would also give parents the ability to sue school districts that violate the prohibition.Representative Gino Bulso, R-Brentwood, agreed to roll voting on the bill in the House K-12 Subcommittee for a week to add an amendment that requires parents to notify the school district before filing suit for a violation.The bill has faced criticism from LBGTQ+ activists because it would effectively ban all pride flags in public schools.

The House K-12 Subcommittee advanced legislation that aims to help public charter schools access vacant and underutilized buildings.If passed the bill would require local school districts that have public charter schools in them to provide a list of vacant and underutilized buildings on an annual basis. Under the bill, school districts would additionally be required to make those properties available to public charter schools at a fair market value and give charters a first right of refusal for either purchase or lease.

Public charter schools across the state are facing a facilities funding crisis that will continue to compound in the coming years. Just half of public charter schools’ facility needs are currently met by state and local funding. The remaining facility expenditures must be covered out-of-pocket by the public charter school, which means fewer teachers, fewer classroom materials, and substandard facilities.By 2028, this funding gap is projected to increase to the point that just 42 percent of charter facility needs are covered by traditional revenue sources.

Members of the House Democratic Caucus held a press conference Tuesday to release what they’re calling a “family-first” agenda for the new legislative session.Members of the Democratic caucus also criticized the Freedom Education Scholarship Act that’s a key priority for Governor Bill Lee and some members of the Republican Supermajority. The act would allow Tennessee families the ability to use public dollars to send their children to private school.

The Tennessee Public Charter School Commission unanimously approved Nashville Collegiate Prep’s request to continue providing students its community classroom model into high school.The K-8 public charter school organizes each grade into a pod of 4 to 5 classes. Throughout the day students switch teachers within the pod based on their specific needs and strengths, providing teachers an opportunity to more directly focus lessons on the areas students might need help in.

Representative Ed Butler, R-Rickman, says it was something personal that led him to file House Bill 1803.Butler says his daughter decided to attend higher education classes in the summer and he realized the Tennessee Promise scholarship wouldn’t be available to students who make a similar choice to attend classes during those months.

Earlier this month when schools across Memphis shut down for winter weather, Promise Academy Spring Hill Interim Executive Director Patrick Washington says he received a memorable early morning phone call from a former student named James.Washington says James talked to him about the challenges he was facing in high school and though they hadn’t spoken in years, Washington offered to help.It’s the type of interaction Washington says students receive at Promise Academy Spring Hill and he shared that story to members of the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission to drive home the importance of keeping the school open.

Sara Vaneel says she chose to enroll her son in Rocketship Nashville Northeast Elementary School when he was entering kindergarten because she wanted him to have a different educational experience than she received.Vaneel says instead of staying with one teacher each day, her son has benefitted from the public charter school’s class rotation schedule, and he loves his coding and robotics classes.Vaneel’s son and his more than 500 classmates have all been at risk of losing what they enjoy about Rocketship since November when members of the Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) Board of Education voted against renewing the school’s charter. That decision threatened to close the school, but Rocketship appealed to the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission.Friday, commissioners unanimously voted to overturn the board’s decision and grant Rocketship another ten-year charter. It’s the latest in a series of decisions by commissioners to overturn MNPS board votes against public charter schools

Even under a best-case scenario, hundreds of Metro-Nashville Public School (MNPS) students will have to repeat the fourth-grade next year under a new state law.That’s according to district Executive Director of the Department of Research, Assessment, and Evaluation Christine Stenson, who updated members of the MNPS Board of Education Tuesday night on the potential impact Tennessee’s new Third-Grade Retention Law will have on district fourth-graders.

Education advocacy organization Tennesseans for Student Success (TSS) announced it’s planning a leadership change in May, following the conclusion of the legislative session.TSS General Counsel and Vice President of Government Relations Lana Skelo Gardner will take over as the organization’s new President and CEO effective May 1, 2024. Gardner succeeds Adam Lister, who has held the position since 2015. The Tennessee Firefly is a project of and supported by Tennesseans for Student Success.

Five Tennessee House members who served on last year’s panel that looked into the possibility of rejecting federal education funding are not recommending doing so.The House report released this week did go further than a Senate report from earlier this month by providing the Tennessee General Assembly with five recommendations

Mental health has been declining for Tennessee high schoolers since 2011 and the concern is especially high for girls.Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth Director of Policy and Legislative Affairs Kylie Graves told members on the House Education Administration Committee Wednesday that high school girls are suffering the effects of declining mental health more than boys.

A key prediction that’s guiding Tennessee’s workforce development is the belief that the number of jobs requiring some form of credential or degree will grow at a higher rate than those requiring only a high school diploma.This could be especially true in Nashville and improving the pathways for students to earn those degrees and credentials is at the heart of the Nashville Chamber of Commerce’s four recommendations to improve K-12 education.

Representative William Lamberth’s, R-Portland, is hoping the second time is the charm for legislation designed to help improve school safety during an active shooter situation.Lamberth tried unsuccessfully to pass the bill during last year’s special session on public safety, but it wasn’t among the four Tennessee Senators approved.The bill would require each school district to develop specific procedures to follow if an unannounced fire alarm goes off. Lambert told the House K-12 Subcommittee Tuesday afternoon that this type of planning could save lives in an active-shooter situation.