ASD riles parents, community with school takeover

The state-run Achievement School District (ASD) is tasked with improving the state's lowest performing schools. This month, the ASD announced its intent to take over Neely's Bend Middle School in Madison. Rather than selecting Nashville's lowest performing, longest struggling school, the ASD has instead selected a school that, ironically, outperforms the ASD.

While the charter movement is allegedly predicated on parental "choice," that choice seems to vanish when appointed ASD officials decide to impose a charter school on a community. The ASD is pushing forward despite protests by parents, teachers, community members, a variety of elected officials from the community (including current and former school board members), and even the MNPS Director of Schools.

Why, under these circumstances, would the ASD insist upon a hostile takeover of Neely's Bend when other local schools clearly require more attention? The answer is simple: The ASD is trying to save itself. It has cherry-picked a school to boost its own dismal performance. This is a prime example of a government bureaucracy attempting to justify its own existence.

Although originally conceived as something very different, the ASD has become a way for state officials to hand over neighborhood schools to charter operators. This has not proven to be an effective solution. Despite higher per pupil expenditures (the exact amount has not been revealed), the ASD is underperforming. In Memphis, where nearly all ASD schools are located, district-operated schools outpace ASD schools, and, in fact, the ASD overall showed negative growth in every single subject area in 2014.

Related article: Replace fear over school conversion with collaboration

At recent community meetings in Madison, ASD officials shared misleading information with parents, labeling their achievement "extraordinary," and deflected attention from their underperforming schools in Memphis, where communities are actively rebelling against the ASD. They instead highlighted Brick Church College Prep, operated by LEAD, as their best success story.

In 2012, the ASD chose LEAD to convert Brick Church Middle School by adding only one grade a year. As a result of this phased-in conversion, two competing schools have coexisted in the same building for two years, during which time LEAD has paid no rent to the district. This period of transition has not been a time of working together for the good of the students. On the contrary, according to an independent review for Metro Schools by the Tribal Consulting Group, the transition years "resulted in significant declines at the school in the areas of engagement, process, and culture," and as a result of the conversion, "(t)he level of professionalism and care has declined." The Tribal Report also noted that the conversion resulted in the loss of top-performing, experienced teachers; low teacher morale as a result of high staff turnover; and a "fragile" staff culture.

Furthermore, the charter conversion of Brick Church Middle School has not provided better outcomes for students. Data analysis by MNPS indicates that value-added growth at Brick Church College Prep was no greater over the past two years than that of MNPS or the district-run grade levels at Brick Church Middle School; in fact, district-run grade levels slightly outperform the new charter grade levels at the school. Although reading achievement for the new charter grade levels significantly increased in 2014, growth scores simultaneously decreased. This anomaly is not easily explained, but indicates a change in students. Rather than demonstrating miraculous improvements, increases in test scores at charter schools sometimes merely result from changes in student populations.

In short, there is simply no evidence that the conversion of Neely's Bend to a charter school will provide better outcomes for students, and worse, there is evidence that the conversion will cause chaos within the school and community, leading to a poor and unstable learning environment for students. However, the conversion of Neely's Bend will allow the ASD to improve its own achievement outcomes and give LEAD access to more students and thus greater per pupil expenditures than Nashville's lowest performing school.

The State's overreach into local school systems is simply wrong. It is wrong for students, teachers, schools and communities. We must stand up to oppose the ASD's predatory tactics and preserve our community schools. Our children deserve better.

Amy Frogge represents District 9; Jill Speering represents District 3 on the Metro School Board.