A struggling Nashville, Tenn., middle school will become the state’s first public school to be turned into a charter school, with a yet-to-be-named company possibly taking it over a grade at a time.
State Education Commissioner Tim Webb said the effort to help fix Cameron Middle School could be part of a model for turning around Tennessee’s most troubled schools. It’s the state’s first major push for reform since legislators made big changes to education law last month.
Cameron Middle is one of Metro Nashville’s lowest-performing schools, and Jesse Register, the head of the district, installed almost a new staff there last fall. Although the school saw significant academic gains over the past year, it is still one of 13 statewide eligible for placement in the achievement school district, which has yet to be formed.