At the quarterly Tennessee Public Charter School Commission meeting Tuesday, Nashville Classical Charter School (NCCS) won approval to open a second campus in the Nashville metropolitan area.
Nashville Classical’s K-8 flagship school is located in East Nashville. Over the years, it’s become one of the most popular and top-performing schools in the city. Its mission, according to its website, states, “Nashville Classical strives to educate a diverse community of K-8 scholars through a joyful, rigorous curriculum and within a structured intentional culture, building a foundation of knowledge and habits for high school, college, and life.”
According to its website, Nashville Classical, citing TNReady Scores, says “In 2019, Nashville Classical’s success rate on the TNReady was 2.2 times the success rate in Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools (MNPS), 2 times the success rate of Hillwood and White’s Creek Cluster Schools, and 1.6 times the success rate across Tennessee.”
Now, Nashville Classical II (NCII) plans to open in August 2022 with 81 students in kindergarten. The school hopes to enroll 700 students in grades K-8 by the 2026-27 school year, offering the city’s first K-8 school outside of East Nashville. The new campus will be located at 1015 Davidson Drive in the old Brookmeade Elementary School building.
In a press release, Charlie Friedman, NCCS founder and head of school, said, “We are absolutely thrilled and excited that the Charter School Commission has recognized the value of replicating Nashville Classical’s proven learning model. By opening NCII along Charlotte Pike, we will serve a diverse, growing community and give families from across the city an opportunity to attend an excellent public school that has no geographic priority zones, tests, or other requirements to attend.”
According to its application, Nashville Classical plans to further expand and propose a third campus by 2023, though the location has not been determined.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected]
Photo “Nashville Classical Students” by Nashville Classical Charter School.
