Three Hillsdale College-affiliated charter schools have withdrawn their appellate applications to open in school districts across the state.
The American Classical Academy charter schools, which were initially denied by the Rutherford County, Clarksville-Montgomery and Jackson-Madison school systems, appealed the decisions of the local school boards to the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission. Following three contentious charter hearings in September, the commission, which was appointed by charter supporter Gov. Bill Lee, planned to make a final decision on the matter Oct. 5.
Former state Sen. Dolores Gresham, who is the board chair of the ACA organization American Classical Education, sent a letter to charter commission chair Tom Griscom on Thursday regarding ACE’s intention to withdraw its applications.
“We made this decision because of the limited time to resolve the concerns raised by the Commission staff and our concerns that the meeting structure and timing on October 5th will not allow Commissioners to hear directly from the community members whose interests lie at the heart of the Commission’s work,” reads the letter.
During ACE’s hearings, charter commission executive director Tess Stovall questioned the charter operator about untimely changes to its governance structure — ACE changed its board membership significantly since submitting its initial applications, ultimately adding more local representation. Its representative pushed back against Stovall’s question. Other concerns about ACA charters raised by school boards included the charter school’s lack of demonstrated ability to serve students with disabilities and reach diverse families, along with additional concerns about ACA’s academic, governance and financial aspects.
“ACE initially asked for a delay to further address concerns and clarify confusion and misconceptions raised by the Commission staff in each of the public hearings earlier this month,” reads a statement sent on behalf of ACE by Chris Burger, a former aide to Gov. Lee. “We understand that the delay request was not granted. Additionally, when the Commission created additional public comment time for its meetings in October — we heard from many parents and students who will be on fall break during the newly reformatted Commission meetings and would be unable to travel to Nashville. This made us concerned that the Commission would not hear directly from the voices that really matter — the parents and students in these communities.”
Additional concerns from the September ACA hearings were that the public comment sections was stacked with ACA supporters and left no room for others to share their thoughts on the matter. Chalkbeat has since released an article demonstrating the widespread opposition for ACA, as shown through written comments.
ACA is controversial due to its connection with Michigan’s conservative Hillsdale College. Critics have raised concerns about the university’s conservative 1776 curriculum that would be used in the proposed charter schools. Hillsdale has also received criticism following the remarks of its president Larry Arrn, who said that “teachers are trained in the dumbest parts of the dumbest colleges in the country.” Gov. Lee is close with Arnn and was present when Arnn made disparaging comments about public school teachers — Lee has also faced criticism for not rebuking Arnn’s comments. In January, Gov. Lee announced a partnership with Hillsdale to bring 50 of its charter schools across the state. Following Arnn’s remarks, charter supporter and House Education Administration Committee chair Rep. Mark White (R-Memphis) told the Scene that he’s not interested in supporting any forthcoming Hillsdale-related legislation.
“We believe, with complete conviction, that there will be many future opportunities in Tennessee as there are in most of America,” continues the ACE statement. “We look forward to applying for additional charter schools where local parents, teachers and students desire excellent education alternatives.”
