Achievement School District

The Achievement School District (ASD) is a school system in Tennessee providing academic intervention in the lowest performing schools in Tennessee, with the goal of increasing student achievement in those schools.[1] The ASD's assigned task is to move the bottom 5% of schools in Tennessee to the top 25% of schools in the state.[2] The Achievement School District was created to cause "school turnaround," a term meaning rapid results in poorer-performing schools.[3] The Achievement School District is modeled after the Louisiana Recovery School District and takes elements from Michigan's state-run district for failing schools as well.[4]

History

Tennessee received funding from the federal government to create the Achievement School District when it won Race to the Top, a United States Department of Education contest created to spur innovation and reforms in state and local district K–12 education.[5] The Achievement School District was created to improve student achievement in Tennessee's Priority Schools—those in the bottom 5% in the state—and in so doing, increasing students' career options and life outcomes. It is modeled from principles of President Bush's No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and Obama's Race to the Top legislation.[6] Various states submit their budget proposals in order to receive financial support. Schools in desperate need of change are labelled as priority schools.[3] Those priority schools are added into this school district with the goal to be eventually released back into city and state school systems.[7] They acquire staff from programs such as the Memphis Teacher Residency and Teach for America.[4]

Leadership

Malika Anderson was named the superintendent of the Achievement School District in November 2015 by the Tennessee Department of Education. She was preceded by Chris Barbic, who served in the role from 2011 to 2015. The district depends on charter management organizations (CMOs) in order to run and fund these charter schools.[8] CMOs come from various sources such as the state, national organizations, and financial donors.[3] The Achievement School District creates autonomy for these schools to launch the programs they need.[8]

ASD schools

The bottom 5% of Tennessee schools include 83 schools across Memphis, Jackson, Nashville, Knoxville and Chattanooga.[9][10] As of August 2016, there are 31 schools serving 12,000 students in the ASD.[citation needed][needs update]

Elementary school
School Grades served School operator Location Year opened
Aspire Coleman Elementary PK–6 Aspire Public Schools Memphis 2014
Aspire Hanley Elementary #1 K–7 Aspire Public Schools Memphis 2013
Aspire Hanley Elementary #2 PK–5 Aspire Public Schools Memphis 2013
Cornerstone Prep – Denver Campus K–5 Capstone Education Group Memphis 2015
Cornerstone Prep – Lester Campus PK–5 Capstone Education Group Memphis 2012
Corning Achievement Elementary School PK–5 Achievement Schools Memphis 2012
Frayser Achievement Elementary School PK–5 Achievement Schools Memphis 2012
Georgian Hills Achievement Elementary School PK–5 Achievement Schools Memphis 2013
KIPP Memphis Academy Elementary K–2 KIPP Memphis Collegiate Schools Memphis 2013
KIPP Memphis Preparatory Elementary K–1 KIPP Memphis Collegiate Schools Memphis 2015
Klondike Preparatory Academy K–5 Gestalt Community Schools Memphis 2013
Libertas School at Brookmeade PK–2 Libertas School of Memphis Memphis 2015
Memphis Scholars Caldwell-Guthrie PK–5 Memphis Scholars Memphis 2016
Memphis Scholars Florida-Kansas K–5 Memphis Scholars Memphis 2015
Promise Academy-Spring Hill PK–3 Promise Academy Memphis 2013
Whitney Achievement Elementary School PK–5 Achievement Schools Memphis 2013
Middle school
School Grades School operator Location Year opened
Brick Church College Prep 5–8 LEAD Public Schools Nashville 2012
Humes Preparatory Academy 6–8 Gestalt Community Schools Memphis 2012
KIPP Memphis Preparatory Middle 5–7 KIPP Memphis Collegiate Schools Memphis 2013
KIPP Memphis University Middle 6–7 KIPP Memphis Collegiate Schools Memphis 2014
Kirby Middle School 6–8 Green Dot Public Schools Memphis 2016
Lester Prep 6–8 Capstone Education Group Memphis 2014
Memphis Scholars Raleigh-Egypt 6–8 Memphis Scholars Memphis 2016
Neely's Bend College Prep 5–6 LEAD Public Schools Nashville 2015
Westside Achievement Middle School 6–8 Achievement Schools Memphis 2012
Wooddale Middle School 6–8 Green Dot Public Schools Memphis 2015
High school
School Grades School operator Location Year opened
Fairley High School 9–12 Green Dot Public Schools Memphis 2014
GRAD Academy Memphis 9–12 Project Grad USA Memphis 2013
Hillcrest High School 9–12 Green Dot Public Schools Memphis 2016
Martin Luther King Jr. College Preparatory High School 9–12 Frayser Community Schools Memphis 2014
Alternative
School Grades School operator Location Year opened
Pathways in Education–Memphis in Frayser 9–12 Pathways in Education Memphis 2014
Pathways in Education–Memphis in Whitehaven 9–12 Pathways in Education Memphis 2015

School operators

  • Achievement Schools
  • Aspire Public Schools
  • Capstone Education Group
  • Frayser Community Schools
  • Freedom Preparatory Academy
  • Gestalt Community Schools
  • Green Dot Public Schools
  • KIPP Memphis Collegiate Schools
  • LEAD Public Schools
  • Libertas School of Memphis
  • Memphis Scholars
  • Project GRAD
  • Pathways in Education
  • Promise Academy
  • Rocketship Education

References

  1. ^ "Achievement School District". Tennessee Consortium on Research, Evaluation, and Development. Archived from the original on October 23, 2013. Retrieved April 17, 2013.
  2. ^ "Achievement School District". Achievement School District. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
  3. ^ a b c Glazer, Joshua L.; Massell, Diane; Malone, Matthew (September 2018). "Charter Schools in Turnaround: Competing Institutional Logics in the Tennessee Achievement School District". Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis. 41 (1): 5–33. doi:10.3102/0162373718795051. ISSN 0162-3737.
  4. ^ a b Rich, Motoko (April 3, 2013). "Crucible of Change in Memphis as State Takes On Failing Schools". New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
  5. ^ Cardona, Nina (June 8, 2010). "Federal Definition Will Affect Achievement School District Numbers". Nashville Public Radio. Archived from the original on July 5, 2013. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
  6. ^ "Race to the Top Fund". US Department of Education. Archived from the original on July 15, 2016. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
  7. ^ Kim, Juli; Field, Tim; Hargrave, Elaine (2015). "The Achievement School District: Lessons from Tennessee" (PDF). Public Impact. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 27, 2021. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
  8. ^ a b Zimmer, Ron; Henry, Gary T.; Kho, Adam (December 2017). "The Effects of School Turnaround in Tennessee's Achievement School District and Innovation Zones". Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis. 39 (4): 670–696. doi:10.3102/0162373717705729. ISSN 0162-3737.
  9. ^ "Achievement Advisory Council For Potential Achievement School District Schools" (PDF). Achievement School District. Retrieved 28 March 2013.[permanent dead link‍]
  10. ^ Aldrich, Marta (September 14, 2021). "Seven schools exit Tennessee's toughest school improvement list". Chalkbeat Tennessee. Retrieved 2023-09-14.