CAMERON SCHOOL TO BE PRIVATIZED
IN THE FALL OF 2010

    Come Fall 2010, Cameron School will no longer exist. The Metro Nashville School Board has abruptly decided that the school should no longer be a part of the Metro Nashville School system. This decision is about pure politics and money. Below is a summary of what has transpired with Cameron over the years.

    The school has been on academic probation for several years due to the 'No Child Left Behind Act' of 2001 which mandated that all children in public schools receiving federal funds be required to perform at the same academic level whether foreign speaking or not. Cameron School, therefore, was required to do the impossible because of its large number of foreign speaking students. Because it was not making progress 'fast' enough, it was labeled a 'failing school' through no fault of its own or its faculty. The faculty and staff of Cameron worked as hard as they could to achieve the impossible with very little help from the school administration or the state which seemed to want them to fail.

    In late January 2010, the Tennessee State Legislature passed a higher education bill to receive federal funds for educational improvements in the state. One of the features of this bill allowed the state to take control of 'failing schools' as mandated by the federal government by placing them in categories called academic districts. Since Cameron was considered a 'failing school' because it was not able to teach its large foreign speaking population fast enough, this very quickly allowed a state takeover of the school.

   In addition to this, the mayor of Nashville and other entities within the city are trying to expand charter schools within Nashville. Cameron was not given a chance to improve its academic standing because this created better conditions for the school board and the mayor to make Cameron a charter school. Cameron School was the sacrificial lamb for the mayor's goal to expand charter schools in Nashville.

      We need Your support to Ask the School Board to Reconsider its decision in making Cameron a charter school. Contact your school board representatives, council people, Mayor's Office, Director of Schools, etc. to see what can be done.

    Please contact me as well. We are trying to put together a delegation to go to the Director's office to discuss this situation with him. Maybe we can get him to reconsider his decision. Please email me at panthers@cameronalumni.org and include your name, phone number and email address. We will get back with you as soon as we can.

Thanks...

Donald L. Johnson
CHSAG President