The Hamilton County school board denied the application for a new, all-boys charter school, citing concerns around financial viability and its ability to deliver a high-quality educational program.
The Empowerment Academy hoped to provide elementary students with an education focused on agriculture, science, technology, engineering and math. The organization submitted its application to Hamilton County Schools earlier this year. It also submitted similar charter applications to the Metro Nashville and Memphis-Shelby County school systems.
A recommendation for approval requires applicants to meet standards in all of the major areas on the Tennessee Department of Education’s evaluation rubric, Fannie Moore, the district’s charter school coordinator, told school board members Thursday.
“Overall, the review team found that Empowerment Academy — East Tennessee did not present a clear and comprehensive school model and were deficient in their plans for academics, operations, finance and required addenda,” Moore said. “The review team does not have confidence that Empowerment Academy — East Tennessee will open successfully and be able to establish and sustain a strong learning environment for students.”
The school board voted unanimously Thursday to deny the charter application.
Charters are taxpayer-funded public schools run by independent governing boards, with limited oversight from Hamilton County Schools. The district’s school choice office provides support and annual feedback to charter schools while monitoring progress.
Hamilton County has nine such schools that serve just under 3,000 students.
The Empowerment Academy, which aimed to open in fall 2027, planned to serve 50 students at the Warren Chapel AME Church on North Market Street. It aimed to spark students’ interest in careers in STEM and agriculture, as well as help students see teaching as a viable career pathway, according to its application.
Over the summer, the group hosted a camp for rising prekindergarten through first grade boys to ensure running a school was something it wanted to do, board President Natisha Brooks previously told the Chattanooga Times Free Press. The camp ran through emergency drills, focused on the same key themes and included practices, like having students teach lessons to their peers, that the school intended to implement to see what it would look like.
The review team pointed to a limited understanding of state accountability systems, unreasonable budget assumptions, proposed teacher salaries that fall below the state minimum and an academic plan that it found lacked clarity, coherence and detail.
The group also did not demonstrate that it has the capacity to effectively oversee this school while launching two others, the review team said, and hosting summer programming did not demonstrate the capacity required to run full-scale charter schools.
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Denied charter school applicants can reapply.
When a charter application is denied, the school board has to provide written notice within 10 calendar days of the decision that includes the reasons for denial. The charter school then has 30 calendar days to submit an amended application.
After receiving the revised application, the school board has 60 days to vote to approve or deny it. If no action is taken, the application is considered approved.
If the board denies the application again, the charter school can seek approval from the Tennessee Public Charter Commission. If the Charter Commission approves the school, the district could choose to become its authorizer. Otherwise, the commission would monitor the school.
Contact education reporter Shannon Coan at scoan@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6396.