American Classical Education Withdraws Appeals to the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission

American Classical Education (ACE) announced Thursday that it had withdrawn its appeals to the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission that would open charter schools in Madison, Montgomery, and Rutherford counties.

ACE is affiliated with Hillsdale College, a Michigan-based private school championed by Governor Bill Lee for its “1776 Curriculum” which “teaches students about the strengths of America and the Western tradition.” The ACE charter schools would have used “classical methods rooted in Western and American heritage” in its classrooms, according to its website.

ACE board member Dolores Gresham stated that the partial reason for the withdrawal was due to time concerns.

“ACE initially asked for a delay to further address concerns and clarify confusion and misconceptions raised by the Commission staff in each of the public hearings earlier this month,” Gresham’s statement reads. “We understand that the delay request was not granted.”

Gresham goes on to state, “Additionally, when the Commission created additional public comment time for its meetings in October — we heard from many parents and students who will be on fall break during the newly reformatted Commission meetings and would be unable to travel to Nashville. This made us concerned that the Commission would not hear directly from the voices that really matter — the parents and students in these communities.

Despite withdrawing the appeals, Gresham added that ACE remains committed to providing parents and students with an option to attend charter schools.

“We believe, with complete conviction, that there will be many future opportunities in Tennessee as there are in most of America … ACE remains committed to empowering parents and students to have access to high-quality public schools of choice. We look forward to applying for additional charter schools where local parents, teachers and students desire excellent education alternatives,” Gresham’s statement concludes.

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[Editor’s Note: American Classical Education is an advertiser in The Tennessee Star.]

Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network.