Hamilton, Polk County schools facing pressure for receiving “F” grades from state board

From Local 3 News: The Tennessee Board of Education has recommended that Hamilton County Schools create a corrective action plan to improve five county schools that received an “F” rating. One Polk County School received a failing grade for the past two years.

Hamilton County Schools

Schools received a failing grade because of these factors:

• Underperformance
• Leadership hiring decisions
• Budgeting
• Curriculum implementation

The five underperforming Hamilton County Schools that received an “F” are:

• Calvin Donaldson Environmental Science Academy
• Dalewood Middle School
• East Lake Academy of Fine Arts
• Tommie Brown Academy
• Orchard Knob Middle School

This comes from the formula that Tennessee uses to assign letter grades to every public school.

Superintendent Dr. Justin Robertson appeared before the state regarding the matter. He says there are important things to keep in mind when reviewing the grades.

“There is a direct correlation between high poverty and achievement. That doesn't mean that it's directly correlated to growth. The schools that you are seeing today from Hamilton County are high-poverty schools that even have two consecutive years of an F, or a D moving to an F, and we take responsibility for that."

Dr. Robertson says he has committed additional resources to those failing schools and will conduct frequent walk-throughs.

Polk County Schools

Polk Innovative Learning Academy (PILA) is a non-traditional K-12 virtual learning academy. It focuses on providing an alternative learning option for students in Polk County.

The Tennessee State Board of Education gave the school a failing score two years in a row.

According to the virtual school’s leaders, students are expected to engage in six and a half hours of school online each week. Students in grades 6-12 are required to be at the center one day each week.

It was created for students seeking flexibility in their education. In its early years, there were restrictions on student enrollment. Now, PILA is open to every child.

Completed assignments count as attendance, and assignments are due every Friday, which is something the board questioned. The board also questioned the virtual school’s funding.
Polk County Schools Superintendent Dr. James Jones explains why students may choose PILA for their education:

“Oftentimes, when a student chooses to go to the Virtual Academy, they have many underlying problems for whatever reason…Whether, maybe they got pregnant…maybe they have to work X number of hours to help the family.”

State board members questioned the school’s integrity, specifically regarding attendance and completed assignments.

The school’s principal, Kanissa Hardwick, responded:

“We will have our students who score in the 10th to 25th percentile placed into tier two, and then those who fall below the 10th percentile will be placed into tier three. Tier two students, they will meet with a teacher two days a week on Zoom, and then they are already required to come into our center a minimum of one day a week.”

Principal Hardwick says PILA students have the opportunity to participate in other school activities and events.

She explained that there are two full-time general education teachers who are in the center five days per week; one is a Math specialist, and the other teaches English. PILA also has a special education teacher.

Students at this school can meet with teachers or “learning coaches” for one-on-one instruction.

The state board will decide in May whether a corrective action plan should be implemented for the school.