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American Classical Education 
Charter School 

ACTION NEEDED!

WTP Administrator's Position:

JMCSS Board voted TWICE to reject the ACE Charter School Proposal.  According to TN law regarding charter schools, ACE was allowed to appeal to the TN Board of Charter Schools - which they did, and won both recommendation and APPROVAL of this Board. Put simply, since JMCSS voted against the proposal, this free public school option would be accountable only to the state and not JMCSS.  It's all about who is in control.  

Contrary to what Dr. King says, the process was fair, and as established by the state.  He just does not like losing and now wants to waste our tax-payer dollars on a frivolous lawsuit that will very likely be lost, as the state has made their decision according to the rules.  

Action Appeal: 

Please email the JMCSS School Board Members and let them know you expect them to vote NO, and that you will be holding them accountable for their decision if they vote to sue the State at the expense of 100's of THOUSANDS of our taxpayer dollars to STOP the recently-approved American Classical Education Charter School from coming to Madison County.

There is a meeting of the school board on Monday, 10/16 at 9:30 am to attend where the board will vote on this litigation proposal, then a specially called Work Session at 5:30 also Monday, then the regular School Board meeting Thursday 

10-19 at 9:30.  Attending any/all of these meetings with signs (Don't waste our $... etc.) would be helpful as well.  

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Suggested email - use, or edit as you desire.   Sending to the following:  

 addresses; Jwjohnson2@jmcss.org,  hbwalden@jmcss.orgamdarnell@jmcss.orgssfranks@jmcss.orgdmgaugh@jmcss.orgjfhampton@jmcss.orgjknewman@jmcss.org,  mmmoss@jmcss.org  

Send to your school board member, and CC the remainder of the above addresses.  

 JMCSS Board Member,

Why is our Superintendent willing to spend hundreds of thousands of our tax payer's dollars to fight ACAJM ? Yet, he is willing to endorse another Charter School that has not even submitted an application? As a resident of Madison County, I respectfully ask that you vote NO on the Superintendent's decision to sue the State over their ruling to allow an American Classical Academy Charter School in Madison County. As a voting citizen, I will be following this closely, and it will have a huge impact on my decision when election season comes around. Thank you, (Your name)

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Press Release Announcing intent to start the litigation 
can be found
HERE. 
Dr. King sent this to School Board Members as their suggested response to your emails:  
 

"Hi Board,

You might have received an email or emails in opposition regarding the potential litigation regarding TN Public Charter Commission’s recommendation. I want to be very clear about my thoughts so the Board can effectively convey our position to anyone with concerns. My position stems from:

. LOCAL CONTROL: The Board is being minimized and disregarded in local decisions about schools.

. REASON FOR DENIAL: The commission insinuated that the district was playing games by failing to appear for questioning when we followed the rules (Maury County had one person appear and was not questioned) — I take personal offense, because I work very hard to abide by the law of the land.

. EXPECTATIONS: Why are higher expectations for Maury County students obvious than for Madison County, when grading practically the same submitted application differently?

This is about principles, democracy, and local control. I'm not opposed to charter schools. As a matter of fact, I'm in conversation with others about a charter school on the campus of Lane College, a school that we could support for East Jackson as we push STEM. Lane has produced many successful people in the science field so it appears to be the best option of choice. 

I share this email so that you have context/facts and not just clues around the upcoming meeting. I am happy to speak with any constituents about this process and the unfairness that was demonstrated towards JMCSS. -M 

Read Why the State of TN Public Charter School Commission APPROVED the ACE Charter School

  Full recommendation and FACTS can be found HERE.

The review committee recommends the approval of the amended application for American Classical Academy Jackson Madison because the applicant has a clear plan for serving the students in East Jackson, has identified a school leader with deep experience in implementing the classical instructional model, and has demonstrated sufficient financial commitments to support the school as it scales. The academic plan presented by the applicant meets or exceeds the standard because of the clearly identified community within Madison County for the proposed school. In the application and capacity interview, the applicant demonstrated support for the proposed school within the community the school intends to locate, along with clear community engagement efforts affirmed by letters of support and canvassing specifically in East Jackson. This provides sufficient assurance that enrollment targets can be met in Year 1. Additionally, given the organizational structure of the American Classical Education model, the model relies on a strong and experienced school leader for successful implementation of the academic model. ACAJM has identified a school leader who has successfully opened a Barney Charter School Initiative (“BCSI”) affiliated charter school in Florida, and she was able to speak to areas within the application, such as service of special populations, assessments, and school culture, to provide further clarity. The school leader demonstrated deep knowledge of the instructional model, curriculum, and professional development supports provided to teachers to successfully carry out the academic model, and she discussed how instruction would be differentiated and special populations of students would be identified and monitored. The proposed school leader also demonstrated expertise in developing and implementing a school culture plan that focuses on character development and academic performance. Due to the totality of the evidence presented in the application and capacity interview, the review committee determined that the Academic Plan and Capacity meets the standard. The applicant’s operations plan meets or exceeds standard as the application outlines detailed start-up and facility plans that align with the community of East Jackson. The applicant plans to partner with a reputable company who has a track record of supporting charter schools in facility projects. While the sponsor has not yet secured a 8 specific facility, the applicant has identified multiple viable options within East Jackson and is in discussions with the County Commission and real estate firms to ensure the ability to execute a facility option upon authorization. The network proposes a model that is almost exclusively principal-led and so the identification of a competent and experienced leader was found to be paramount to the applicant’s ability to open successfully. The identification of the proposed school leader for ACAJM was deemed a strength from an organizational perspective as during the capacity interview she was able to speak to staffing, professional development, and robust recruitment plan. These key operational areas will be essential to ensure the execution of the instructional model with fidelity. Additionally, the identification of a school leader ensures time sensitive items related to start-up activities remain on track. The financial plan is comprehensive and includes reasonable assumptions that support the start-up expenses necessary to carry out the academic model outlined within the application. This is a result of the sponsor drawing from historical financial data from other BCSI schools and quotes from service providers. The operating budget is strengthened by the additional support from American Classical Education Foundation, which includes access to nointerest loans and a line of credit sufficient to cover any potential budgetary or cash shortfalls experienced due to a lack of charter school start-up grant funds, enrollment targets not being met, facility related expenses, or the cost of scaling programs. For the aforementioned reasons, the review committee found that the sponsor did meet or exceed the standard for approval based on the state’s scoring rubric.

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