The Aspire Public School’s Board of Directors voted today to make its Aspire Memphis region an independent, locally-operated charter management organization.
Over the next 12-18 months, with continued support from the Aspire home office, all operational responsibilities at the four Memphis schools–Hanley Elementary, Hanley Middle School, Coleman Elementary and Aspire East Academy–will be transitioned to a new nonprofit organization and managed by a local board of directors. The schools will officially transition at the beginning of the 2020-21 school year. During the transition period, the schools will remain part of Aspire.
“Our team, our scholars and I have gained so much from the affiliation with Aspire Public Schools and their leadership,” said Dr. Nickalous Manning, Superintendent, Aspire Memphis. “The time is right to begin this transition and we believe it will benefit all of our scholars and families to have an organization fully based here in Memphis managing our four schools.”
Aspire Memphis serves approximately 1,600 predominantly low-income African American scholars across three neighborhoods: Raleigh, Orange Mound, and Hickory Hill. Academic achievement in math and reading across the four schools currently paces schools serving similar students in Tennessee.
“We have every confidence in Dr. Manning and the local team and look forward to seeing these Memphis schools continue to thrive,” said Mala Batra, Interim Chief Executive Officer, Aspire Public Schools. “Dr. Manning and his team have shown a deep commitment to high-quality academic instruction and have developed incredible relationships within the Memphis community. They are well positioned to take these schools to new heights in service of scholars and families.”
About Aspire Public Schools
Aspire Public Schools operates 40 high-performing, college-preparatory public charter schools serving 17,000 scholars in underserved communities across California and Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1998, Aspire is one of the nation’s largest open-enrollment public charter school systems serving predominantly low-income students, delivering a rigorous College for Certain education across grades TK-12. Currently in its 19th academic year, Aspire is one of the nation’s first charter school systems. Visit Aspire Public Schools at www.aspirepublicschools.org.