Tennessee Education Commissioner discusses plan for priority schools in Hamilton County

HAMILTON COUNTY, Tenn. (WDEF) — Despite years of efforts by the Hamilton County Department of Education, Chattanooga still has five under-performing schools.

Tennessee Education Commissioner Candice McQueen met with school board members during a special meeting Thursday afternoon.

She discussed a proposed plan for a Partnership Zone with the District.

She identified the five priority schools as Orchard Knob Elementary, Woodmore Elementary, Orchard Knob Middle, Dalewood Middle, and Brainerd High School. The hope is a Partnership Zone, would help bring graduation rates up.

The board would be appointed through a sixty-forty split, 60 percent through the state and 40 percent appointed by the district.

“The zone is a structure that allows what is really working to go forward and to be part of those individual school plans. It also says let’s step back and look at new structures that we need to put in place that may be continuous or may have some continuity across the schools,” McQueen said.

Some school board members wanted to wait until after they have a superintendent to write a letter of intent for the partnership zone.

“I just can’t imagine that this would be a real partnership without that very important piece of our puzzle being present and having enough time to be part of that,” said Tiffanie Robinson, a school board member for District 4.

McQueen understood, but she didn’t want the process to be drawn out too long. Some school board members in the districts with priority schools say they are worried they won’t have as much say. But McQueen says that won’t be the case.

“We want to look at what is working. We want to continue what is working and we want to work directly with the school board members as either ex officio members or in some other capacity to make sure they are certainly part of the story of success and their voice is part of the decisions that we make,” McQueen said.

If the partnership zone is picked, there will be a planning phase for it during the 2017-2018 school year. It will then go into effect the following school year.