The Tennessee Story
The CRM started in New Orleans but was designed to work in any district. This timeline presents key events in the efforts to scale the CRM in Nashville and Memphis after the model’s initial development in New Orleans.
Tennessee passes its first school segregation law.
Tennessee amends its state constitution to forbid integration of public schools.
Plessy v. Ferguson establishes “separate but equal” services and schools for populations of color.
Brown v. Board of Ed mandates racial desegregation of public schools.
Martin Luther King, Jr. is assassinated in Memphis.
Nashville City Schools and Davidson County Schools merge as part of a court-ordered desegregation process that had been in litigation since 1957.
Aspire Charter Schools is founded in CA.
Tennessee legislature passes a charter school law, allowing for the establishment of charters in the state. KIPP Memphis opens KIPP Memphis Collegiate Middle (its first Memphis school, the Flagship for CRM schools KIPP Memphis Academy Middle School and KIPP Memphis Preparatory Middle School).
Aspire opens Berkeley Maynard Academy (the Aspire Hanley Flagship) in partnership with UC-Berkeley.
LEAD Public Schools is founded in Nashville.
Power Center Academy (which will become Gestalt and serves as the Humes and Klondike flagship) opens.
Freedom Prep Academy (Freedom Prep Flagship) opens.
The Tennessee Legislature authorizes the Achievement School District (ASD) in alignment with the state’s Race To The Top application. The ASD’s founding mission was to identify Priority Schools (bottom 5% performance statewide) and move them to the top 25% of school performance within five years.
Chris Barbic assumes the superintendency of ASD. LEAD opens Cameron College Prep (Brick Church Flagship).
The first cohort of Tennessee i3 schools opens: LEAD Brick Church, Humes, KIPP Memphis Academy Middle School. Capstone joins ASD (but delays the opening of Cornerstone Lester until following year).
NSNO begins communicating the CRM in national forums.
Memphis City Schools and Shelby County Schools merge into a single district. Tennessee’s second cohort of CRM schools opens to students: Aspire Hanley, Cornerstone Lester, Klondike, KIPP Memphis Preparatory Middle School.
Candice McQueen assumes the state superintendency in Tennessee. The third CRM cohort of schools in Tennessee opens: Freedom Prep
Malika Anderson assumes the ASD superintendency. The fourth Tennessee CRM cohort of schools opens, although these schools are not included in this evaluation.
ASD moves away from an authorizer role and refocuses efforts around compliance, oversight, and the management of their direct-run schools.
Dr. Kathleen Airhart assumes the ASD superintendency.