Two charter operators are interested in running Gestalt’s ASD schools in Memphis

As Gestalt Community Schools prepares to exit its two Memphis schools under the state-run Achievement School District, two other ASD charter operators are interested in stepping in.

Leaders for Frayser Community Schools and the ASD’s own Achievement Schools have expressed interest in operating Humes Preparatory Academy Middle and Klondike Preparatory Academy Elementary, both school turnaround projects in North Memphis, beginning next school year.

Gestalt announced this fall its plan to cease management of those schools after the 2016-17 school year. The network’s leaders blamed under-enrollment borne from declining population in North Memphis and exacerbated by the ASD’s state-imposed cap on out-of-zone enrollment.

Of the seven ASD operators eligible to step in, only Frayser Community Schools and Achievement Schools submitted letters of interest, according to a Dec. 2 email to community stakeholders from Bobby White, the ASD’s chief of external affairs.

ASD leaders are asking operators to submit their applications by this Friday, and White emphasized that there’s no guarantee either or both will apply.

The target date means that ASD leaders have pushed back their timetable for reaching a plan on the two schools’ futures. In late October, they told parents they planned to decide the schools’ fate by Dec. 9 in order “to give parents and teachers alike enough time to make informed decisions.” White said more time was needed for potential operators to map out their plans and engage stakeholders. Community meetings with potential operators are now scheduled for January.

“We are in the time period where both operators are engaged in a good amount of due diligence to assess the feasibility of their potential plans,” White said in his email.

While Frayser Community Schools has expressed interest, it’s not clear whether the Memphis-based operator will be eligible based on 2015-16 state standardized test scores at MLK College Preparatory High, its only school. The State Department of Education is expected to release those scores by next week. Eligibility to expand within the ASD is based on whether an operator “meets or exceed expectations” in at least half of its ASD schools in their 2014-15 and/or 2015-16 test score data.

MLK College Prep is located about five miles north of Klondike and Humes. Achievement Schools operates five schools, also located in Memphis’ Frayser community.

The five other ASD operators eligible to apply are Aspire Public Schools, Capstone Education Group, Green Dot Public Schools, KIPP Memphis Public Schools and Promise Academy.