At the start of the 2024-2025 school year, nearly 100 students have returned to Rutherford County Schools (RCS) after trying out the county’s new charter school: Rutherford Collegiate Prep Academy.
“The opening of RCP [Rutherford Collegiate Prep] has been a disaster,” said Lea Maitlen, parent of a recent RCS graduate. “On the very first day, multiple children were lost by the school for hours as parents became increasingly frantic. One parent referred to the day as ‘apocalyptic.’”
RCP’s charter was rejected by the Rutherford County School Board, but that decision was overruled by Gov. Bill Lee’s handpicked charter school commission.
Gov. Bill Lee recruited Hillsdale College of Michigan to open a network of charter schools in the state - a plan he announced last year in his State of the State Address. http://tnedreport.com/2022/02/exceptionally-bad/ Last year, Hillsdale applied to open "American Classical Academy" in three districts - Jackson-Madison, Clarksville-Montgomery, and Rutherford…
Controversial Michigan-based charter school operator Hillsdale College brought its roadshow to Rutherford County this week and parents and public school advocates spoke out against the school locating in their community. http://tnedreport.com/2022/08/the-truth-about-hillsdale/ Nashville's NewsChannel5 reported on the events surrounding a hearing conducted by the Tennessee State Charter School Commission. While the…
The Rutherford County School Board rejected a charter school application from a Hillsdale-affiliated school last night. The vote was 6-1 against. Here's one Rutherford County School Board member talking about the problems with charter schools, Gov. Bill Lee, and Hillsdale President Larry Arnn: https://twitter.com/TheTNHoller/status/1549478212119547904?s=20&t=fC4-gH_Cg1Cba-14C6Rknw Arnn's recent comments disparaging teachers certainly…
