Candice McQueen
Tennessee Education Commissioner Candice McQueen next week plans to hold a series of private, invitation-only community meetings about the planned state take-over of some low-performing Hamilton County Schools.
Her office said the news media will be excluded, but there will be one opportunity to meet with her briefly on Monday.
Under one plan, the state would take over the schools and make a number of sweeping changes.
Under another, there would be a "partnership" between the state and the school district. However, legislation has apparently not been approved to make the second plan possible at this point.
Her office said the state plans to make a decision later this summer on which take-over plan to carry out.
A state education spokesperson said Commissioner McQueen "will continue the conversation with Hamilton County community members about improving the district’s persistently low-achieving schools, which we call Priority schools. She is co-hosting a series of small community roundtables over the course of the week along with the school board members who represent each area.
"Wile they are invitation-only and closed to press to better help us get feedback from community members in Priority school neighborhoods, we want to offer media the opportunity to talk with Commissioner McQueen and local officials who also attend the discussion.
"We are hosting a media availability on Monday at 1 p.m. following the conclusion of the first community meeting. We will hold a short gaggle followed by the opportunity for individual 1:1 interviews onsite. If you would like a short 1:1 interview, please let me know. Those will be accommodated on a first-come, first-serve basis.
"The media availability will be at the Hamilton County Courthouse (625 Georgia Ave.) on the second floor rotunda.
"For context, these conversations are an opportunity for the commissioner to hear feedback and answer questions about one of the school improvement options we are considering: a Partnership Zone that would allow a cluster of schools to operate with additional autonomy and support. A decision on which school improvement option will move forward, either the Partnership Zone or the state’s Achievement School District, will be made later this summer. We plan to expand our community engagement efforts in the coming months as we begin planning for a new school improvement approach in the 2018-19 school year, so we anticipate this will be one of many opportunities to talk with her as this process unfolds."