On the Fly presented by The TN Firefly

This week we profiled the new Jackson Museum School.  It became the first public charter school to open in Madison County when students walked through its doors earlier this month. Founder Dr. Jean Little tells us the first day was exciting and a little emotional.  The Museum School will serve students in grades K-6 under a museum model that includes weekly expeditions to cultural learning centers.

We also produced our sec...

Today, Tennessee voters will decide the primaries for every State House seat and odd-numbered Senate seats, along with the governor’s office.  

Obviously, the governor’s race is attracting the most attention, especially on the GOP side, where cash and polling have dominated headlines lately. U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn has outraised the field in the last four campaign filings, while her best-funded opponent, Congr...

This week, we began a weekly series of stories on AI in the classroom by focusing on how some Tennessee schools are using the technology. 

In Nashville this summer, LEAD Public Schools held a three-week summer AI program for middle school students. They learned how to use AI as a useful thought partner on projects, and one student we talked to created an app for parking.

Also this week, the state’s two largest school distr...

On Tuesday, the Memphis-Shelby County School Board will be voting on four proposed new public charter schools. That includes two Urban Dove opportunity charter schools specifically designed for at-risk students who are over-aged and under-credited. 

These students will be placed in one of three leagues instead of by grade level.

Urban Dove School Leader Terri Gaston joins this week's On The Fly to discuss the kind of student who...

Next week, the Metro Nashville Public Schools Board of Education will be voting on four proposed new public charter schools. That includes The Gate School, a proposed charter middle school for Nashville that would utilize an education model more commonly found in elite private schools known as the Harkness Method.

School founder Burrus Cox joins this week's On the Fly to talk about the Harkness Method and why he believes it's the ri...

Next week, the Metro Nashville Public Schools Board of Education will be voting on four proposed new public charter schools. 

The Music City Academy is among them. The proposed charter high school, named after the famed Music City Miracle, would be founded by the man at the center of the historic play, former Tennessee Titan Kevin Dyson.

He joined this week's On the Fly to explain his educational journey and the innovative way h...

This week, we began a series of election profiles in advance of next month’s primary and general election. Every State House seat is up for a vote this year, along with odd-numbered Senate seats, and early voting on all of them began today.

One common theme we saw in two GOP primaries is a divide over programs like the Education Freedom Scholarship that allow families to use taxpayer dollars for private school expenses.

In East...

This week, we had news of the positive impact of the Literacy Success Act. The legislation was passed in 2021, and a new report by Tennessee SCORE found that English language arts proficiency rates have risen by nearly 13 percent for third-graders and 14 percent for fourth-graders since then.

We also covered a decision in Dyer County to reject what would have been the county's first public charter school. Supporters of the proposed ...

The summer school break is, for many students, a time for vacations or summer camps, but it’s also a time when some students have less access to the food and support programs they depend on during the school year.

Knoxville Republican State Representative Elaine Davis has championed efforts to improve access to and investment in these programs and to enact tax cuts that support students’ well-being. She joins this editio...

We are recapping this week's education stories, including a recommendation in Hamilton County to reduce the number of local benchmarks students take from three to two. 

Speaking of testing, we also received good news this week about the state-required TCAP assessments. This year’s results included key improvements in English language arts, math, and social studies.  

Finally, this week saw encouraging news for those w...

Next month, the Tennessee Higher Education Commission is expected to approve changes to a funding policy for institutions of higher learning called the Outcomes-Based Funding (OBF) formula.

The OBF provides financial incentives to institutions based on how well they help students succeed. For example, a college that graduates a higher percentage of students might receive more OBF funding than its peers.

East Tennessee State Universit...

This summer, the Metro Nashville Public Schools Board of Education will vote on as many as four proposals for new public charter schools, including the Nashville School of Excellence.

The proposed 6-12 grade school would be an expansion of existing Memphis School of Excellence locations. Firefly reporter Jacob Holley joined the proposed school’s principal, Kazim Kizilkaya, to discuss how the school will specifically serve immi...

Early voting is underway for next month's four school board primaries in Davidson County, including District 4, where longtime Metro Schools teacher, principal, and program director, Jenny Bell, is challenging incumbent Dr. Berthena Nabaa-McKinney to represent families in the Donelson, Old Hickory, and Hermitage communities of Davidson County.

Bell joins this week's On the Fly to discuss why she's running and how she'd add accountab...

This Tuesday, the Dyer County School Board will decide whether to approve the first truly rural public charter school in Tennessee.  The proposed Trimble Academy would combine classical education and outdoor learning for elementary and middle school students in Trimble.

Trimble Forward Alliance President Margaret Prater joins this week's On the Fly to talk about her organization’s proposed charter school and a decision la...