Charter school American Classical Academy makes second try at opening location in Clarksville

CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – For the second year in a row, a charter school supported by Gov. Bill Lee has applied to open in Montgomery County.

In January 2022 Lee announced a “partnership” with Hillsdale College during his State of the State address, and he asked Hillsdale College President Larry Arnn to set up 50 charter schools across the state, according to Fox 17 in Nashville.

The local school, American Classical Academy Montgomery, would use the American Classical Education-K12 Curriculum developed by Michigan-based Hillsdale College, though the charter school would be an independent entity from the private, Christian liberal arts college.

In July 2022, the Clarksville-Montgomery County School Board denied ACE’s application due to governance problems, 19 requested waivers of state laws, and flaws or gaps in operational plans. Earlier that month, Arnn had made insulting comments about public school teachers, receiving a lot of backlash.

ACE has returned with a revised application to pursue the charter school location in Montgomery County.

“Since last fall, American Classical Education has heard from more than 7,000 Tennessee families who want a classical public charter school to serve their communities,” ACE board member and former state Sen. Dolores Gresham said in response to questions from Clarksville Now. “In addition, 65 families and community members sent letters of support for Montgomery Classical Academy. This is a testament to the desire for a public classical education opportunity for students in Montgomery County whose parents want a different option for their child.”

Clarksville Now asked ACE what they were doing differently this time in the application process, but they did not answer.

The CMCSS School Board has been allotted 90 days to either approve or deny the application, following the Feb. 1 application submission. May 1 is the deadline for the board’s decision, and they are scheduled to vote on April 25.

The board will meet Tuesday, April 18, at 6 p.m. to hear a the CMCSS Charter Review Committee’s recommendation.

Who will pay for charter school?

If the charter school goes forward, it will be paid for with taxpayer dollars.

“ACE will receive funding just like any other public charter school via the funding formula,” Gresham told Clarksville Now.

According to ACE’s application, funding sources continue to limit what CMCSS is able to do when it comes to education.

“In Montgomery County Schools, the needs of all students are not being met. School choice is identified as a priority for the county, and yet for many students’ options are slim,” ACE stated in their application.

ACE said each Classical Academy is designed to operate on the local, state and federal education funds generated for the education of the students that will attend the school. Each school will apply for a federal charter school program (CSP) subgrant as available for Tennessee charter schools.

“Additional grant funding opportunities will be investigated; however, ACE does not plan to conduct additional fundraising activities,” ACE states in their application.

Support for charter schools

Charter school supporter A.C. “Big Sarge” Lopez told Clarksville Now that charter schools provide needed options for students who deserve a better future.

He said that in CMCSS, the classics have been put on the back burner. “The classics are what we get critical thinking from. I can look at a situation and see how it happened in different ways and different points of views. We don’t really do that in the school system. It’s just memorize, test and move on,” Lopez said.

ACE’s website details the importance of critical thinking and says classical education teaches students to love learning first, and that those who love to learn do well academically.

Gresham said ACE schools will provide rigorous academic instruction required for responsible citizenship. The core curriculum includes literature, mathematics, history, the sciences, fine arts, Latin and physical education.

“With charter schools, we’re giving the public access to private or semi-private education that will, in turn, lead to critical thinking that should, in theory, lead to a better productive citizen,” Lopez said.

Pushback from opposition

Dr. Dametraus Jaggers, a Clarksville education leader, weighed in during the School Board meeting on Tuesday.

“I think the arguments – why charter schools are not good for public schools – are very much well-documented,” Jaggers said. “They take money away from schools that are already underfunded, and they operate under different rules and regulations than our public schools.”

Jaggers said he understands the challenges that public schools face, and that many parents across the country are seeking other education opportunities for their children. However, he has several concerns about American Classical Academy.

“Hillsdale College is one of the most conservative and well-documented schools that have intentionally challenged real history in America,” Jaggers said. “They have mischaracterized the civil rights movement of the 1960s, as well as current civil rights movements that are happening in order to make sure we have an equitable and inclusive country.”

Jaggers argued that the type of education ACE provides is not what should be taught in the community.

“American Classical Education prides itself on providing the education that the American founders received. The American founders who were not only slave owners and sellers, but also openly and publicly were pro-slavery,” said Jaggers.

Conflict of interest argument

Monica Meeks spoke addressed the board about a potential conflict of interest for one of the board members.

“The American Classical Academy Montgomery specifically states in its application that it will seek out organizers like Mosaic Church to increase awareness about its approach to education,” Meeks said. “The CMCSS Board of Education selected a review committee for charter schools.

“If there are any conflicts of interest within the review committee, the public should know about it. If any School Board member has a conflict of interest, the public should know about it,” Meeks said.

Later, School Board member Aron Maberry responded. Maberry is a pastor at Mosaic Church.

“This past week I received an email that was sent to my colleagues on the board,” Maberry said. “The email accused me of working with our charter school applicant to recruit students and, in short, was asking my colleagues to have me recused of being able to vote for the charter school applicant.”

On Page 117 of the charter school application, ACAM states that it will seek out community organizations – like the Community Action Agency or Mosaic Church – to increase awareness of its unique approach to K-12 public education.

“Mosaic Church, as you know, is the church where I pastor at,” Maberry said. “So I say all of this, to the board, to everyone here, to be very transparent. I had not ever read that line until I received this email.”

Maberry said misinformation was being spread that Mosaic Church was working with ACA to find students for their school.

“I can assure everyone that Mosaic Church has never been approached by the charter school applicant to find students for them now, in the past or in the future,” he said. “The only connection the charter school applicant has to the Mosaic Church comes from a previous member on the board. That was when they asked Tommy Vallejos, he was a pastor at our church, if they could have and hold a meeting last year to answer questions at our church.”

Even if it was true, Maberry said, “I could proudly proclaim it here on the day of the vote. I could tell everyone here, disclose it, and still have a vote.”