The director of a Nashville charter school says he’s not looking for a free pass over some weak test results as he vies to add a second middle school. KIPP Academy will appeal, after the Metro school board rejected a proposed new facility in north Nashville.
KIPP already has a middle school in east Nashville, which fans hold up as a model of a non-traditional school that gets public money. But outgoing school-board member Mark North laid into KIPP over science and social-studies scores he called “awful.” North argued the board cannot sign off on charters that are anything short of great.
NORTH: “And I’m sure they’re going to do better, but with the results they got, with the report card that we have in front of us, we can’t approve.”
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DOWELL: “Our overall achievement scores were not where they needed to be last year.”
Randy Dowell is the principal at KIPP. He points to gains in other areas like math and reading, arguing the application for a second middle school should hold up to scrutiny.
DOWELL: “We’re not looking for leeway at all. We’re looking to be judged on the merits of our data, and our data speak clearly.”
Dowell says he’s looked at more recent results, which haven’t been made public yet. He says he’s “excited” for the day he can share that data.
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The Metro school board also rejected a charter application for Arizona-based Great Hearts schools. Critics complained Great Hearts would use public funds to educate affluent students who would otherwise go to private schools. An official with Great Hearts wouldn’t say whether it might appeal the rejection.
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