Board of Education Revokes Knowledge Academies Charter
NASHVILLE, Tennessee – (Aug. 27, 2019) – The Metropolitan Nashville Board of Education revoked the charter of Knowledge Academies, an Antioch operator of three schools in southeast Davidson County.
The board vote sets in motion a series of actions that could lead to the closure of Knowledge Academy’s charter-school operations. The three schools – Knowledge Academy, KA @ the Crossings and Knowledge High School – had 549 students as of today, according to a district count. The number enrolled at the end of the 2018-19 school year was 869.
The board took separate votes on each of the three school contracts. A motion to revoke the charter of each school received a unanimous 8-0 vote. A second motion to proceed with immediate closure effective Dec. 19, 2019 based on findings around fraud, misappropriation of funds and flagrant disregard for the charter agreement for each school passed with a 6-2 vote.
The action follows months of investigation by the district’s Office of Charter Schools, which identified a series of financial, academic and operational concerns.
Among those concerns:
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Knowledge Academies signed a management agreement with Nobel Education Initiative without communicating with the district, an action that constituted a material change in the contract and would require a contract amendment.
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Knowledge Academies failed to meet or make sufficient progress toward the performance expectation set forth in the charter agreement.
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Knowledge Academies failed to meet generally accepted standards of fiscal management.
Knowledge Academies may appeal the board’s decision to the state Board of Education, and they have 10 calendar days to do so. The state Board of Education would have 60 days to conduct a review, which would include a public hearing.
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Metro Nashville Public Schools is one of the nation’s top 50 largest school districts, preparing more than 86,000 students for higher education, work and life. With the goal of being the first choice for Nashville families, Metro Schools is committed to #ExceedingGreatExpectations with the mission of delivering a great public education to every student, every day. The district is earning a national reputation for urban school reform, social and emotional learning and rising academic achievement. The governing body for Metro Schools is the Metropolitan Nashville Board of Public Education, a nine-member elected body. For more information, visit MNPS.org, or follow us on Twitter @MetroSchools or Facebook/MetroSchools.