WKRN, Nashville, Tennessee News, Weather and Sports |3 new charter schools set to open by 2013

3 new charter schools set to open by 2013

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A new charter school is set to open in Antioch at Hickory Hollow Mall for the 2012-13 school year.

It was one out of three charter school proposals approved by the Metro Nashville Board of Education Tuesday night.

Knowledge Academy, pitched by founder Art Fuller, will be for middle school-aged children and located in a 15,000 square foot space near the Electronic Express in the shopping center.

Fuller said that he and others are beginning an aggressive outreach to southeast Davidson County students and families.

"We're ready to roll up our sleeves," he said.  "No. 1 we want the school to be personalized.  We're having a 20-1 pupil-to-teacher ratio, so students will have individualized attention.  It's going to be more collaborative.  Students, teachers and parents will collaborate with a lot of things going on in the school."

Metro's total number of publicly financed, privately-run schools increased to 14 with the addition of the three new board approvals.

Jeremy Kane's proposal for a new LEAD Academy for 5th through 12th grades was also one of the approved schools.

A building has not been identified but the school is scheduled to open in 2012.

Kane currently operates two Metro charter schools, LEAD Academy's middle school and high school.  He will also operate Cameron Middle Charter School when it opens in the fall.

KIPP Academy was also a part of the school board's vote on Tuesday.

It will create a high school expansion in east Nashville in a soon-to-be renovated portion of the Highland Heights building on Douglas Avenue, next to KIPP's existing middle school.

The new KIPP Academy high school will open in 2013.  Metro dollars have already been set aside for the renovation.

Each of the approvals for the charter proposals was a unanimous decision.

*The Nashville City Paper contributed to this story.