M4L - Chattanooga, Tn

09/09/2026

09/03/2026

MEGA SCHOOLS: ARE BIGGER REALLY BETTER?

Part 2 | Bigger Isn’t Always Better

Last week, we asked: How big is too big for a school?

This week let's look at the research and at the three elementary schools that would become the new North River campus.

Right now, all three are below 50% overall proficiency:

Alpine Crest — 39.4%
Rivermont — 33.4%
DuPont — 23.6%

Those numbers don't tell the whole story. But they raise an important question:

If students are already struggling, can we expect a much larger school to improve those outcomes simply because it is bigger?

Research gives us reason to ask.

A review of 57 studies found the weight of evidence favored smaller schools, particularly for students who are disadvantaged or struggling academically.

And disadvantaged doesn't simply mean minority. It can include children facing poverty, family circumstances and other barriers that make academic success more difficult.

That's especially important in elementary school.

Elementary is where the foundation is built. If children aren't developing strong reading and math skills early, the academic demands only become harder as they move forward.

So yes, a larger school may offer more: more sports, activities, electives, facilities and opportunities.

Those things have value.

But we have to ask:

Are those opportunities more important than making sure every child has the academic foundation needed for the next step?

We're not saying every large school fails. We're not saying every small school succeeds.

We're asking for something much simpler:

Show us the evidence that bigger will be better for these children.

Parents deserve the research.
Taxpayers deserve the numbers.
And our children deserve decisions based on what actually works.

08/28/2026

A new national report found about $225 million in alleged school fraud since 2019 — fake invoices, padded enrollment, kickbacks, stolen funds. Authors call it “hideous” because the money was supposed to be for kids.

Tennessee is not a bystander.

Memphis-Shelby just took a state forensic audit: $54 million flagged for potential fraud, waste, or abuse. In Hamilton County, the Comptroller has already walked through our own house. A former nutrition official was indicted for selling cafeteria surplus into his personal account. A former transportation manager used a school vehicle for hundreds of Uber and DoorDash runs on the clock and pleaded guilty to theft. Years earlier, the district health plan was billed nearly $1 million in a cream-fraud scheme.

Fraud does not start at $225 million. It starts when one person can sign, sell, and pocket with no second set of eyes.

Ask HCS who is watching nutrition, transportation, vendors, and school activity funds — before the next Comptroller report writes the headline for us.

According to this report, dozens of American schools are implicated in fraud that amasses almost a quarter of a billion dollars.

08/28/2026

Common Sense Media just told schools to drop Google. They call the company’s new Search AI an “unacceptable risk” to kids — no real age gate, AI answers served to 10-year-olds, disinformation baked into homework search.

This is not abstract for Hamilton County.

Hamilton County Schools runs on Google: student accounts, Classroom, Drive, YouTube, Chromebooks. High schoolers still take devices home. The district has had a board-approved AI policy since 2024. Teachers must disclose AI use and check the output. Staff have talked about using AI to personalize learning and “close gaps.”

A local policy does not disable Google’s product. Gemini is being wired into Classroom. AI Overviews sit inside Search. If the district lives on Workspace, the AI comes with the login unless someone turns it off and proves it.

We limited phones and pulled 1:1 devices in the lower grades. Now ask the harder question: is school-issued Google quietly putting generative AI in front of our kids?

A new report from child safety watchdog Common Sense Media has concluded that Google's AI-powered Search poses an unacceptable risk to young users, prompting calls for schools to discontinue use of Google products until AI features can be disabled.

08/28/2026

Jill Black, who screamed, “BLOOD ON YOUR HANDS! BLOOD ON YOUR HANDS ALL OF YOU! I SWEAR TO GOD!” has resigned from the Hamilton County School Board.

We’ll simply say: thank you, Jill, for leaving the school board.

Parents deserve school board members who can handle disagreement, remain professional, and put the needs of students and families ahead of personal agendas.

And to Hamilton County voters: DO YOUR HOMEWORK before the next election. Know who you are voting for before handing someone the responsibility of making decisions for your children.

Never again.

08/28/2026

Nashville teachers are saying the quiet part out loud: change the grade, protect the numbers.

A Teacher of the Year resigned after she says Metro admins fabricated a grade she refused to change. A high school math teacher was suspended after she refused to pass failing students with D’s. She called it “cooking the books.” She is suing.

This should sound familiar. When Sonia Stewart was principal at Pearl-Cohn in Nashville — before she became Hamilton County Schools’ deputy superintendent — NewsChannel 5 Nashville documented a school that made it extremely hard to fail: a 60-point floor and automatic A’s for merely taking an AP exam. Metro later admitted those practices violated district policy.

The names change. The incentive does not. Inflated grades travel from Nashville to Hamilton County the same way bad curriculum travels from California to Tennessee.

Watch the people. Watch the data. Ask who can override a teacher’s grade.

Two former Metro Nashville Public Schools teachers say administrators directed them to change failing grades so the district’s performance would look better on…

08/28/2026

California parents, including Jewish, Hindu, and Zoroastrian families, are suing a Palo Alto high school after a “social justice” field trip to a mosque where girls were told to wear hijabs and students were given Qurans. Photos were posted without parental consent.

TN parents: watch this. What gets approved in California schools often ends up in ours.

The very definition of Creeping Sharia - and it's unconstitutional.

08/26/2026

What happens when three school communities become one?

Hamilton County is moving forward with a new elementary school in Hixson that will bring together the DuPont, Alpine Crest and Rivermont communities.

But before we discuss the building, the cost, or the politics, there is a bigger question:

What happens to the child when the institution becomes too large to truly know them?

Other communities across the country have wrestled with similar questions. We've taken a look at some of those experiences and then brought the conversation home to Hamilton County.

This is just the beginning.

Over the coming weeks, we're going to look at the research, the promises, the trade offs, the people, the community, the money and the process that brought this project to where it is today.

We're asking you to come along, look at the evidence, and ask questions with us.

🎥 The North River Files — Part 1: The Question

What do you think? Is bigger always better?

08/25/2026

Three schools.

Three communities.

One new school.

But how big is too big?

Wednesday, we start looking for answers.

THE NORTH RIVER FILES
Part 1 — The Question

08/24/2026

Jill Black has resigned from the Hamilton County Schools board, effective immediately, leaving a vacancy in District 11. Her family is relocating to Canada following her husband's new job.

So what happens now?

Since District 11 was NOT on the August 6 ballot, this isn't as simple as saying, "We'll just elect someone next time."

Tennessee law says school board members serve four-year terms. It also says that when a vacancy occurs, the vacancy is filled by the local legislative body, in this case, the Hamilton County Commission.

But that appointment is temporary.

T.C.A. §49-2-201 says the person appointed serves until a successor is elected and qualifies. It also says the successor is to be elected at the next general election for which candidates have sufficient time to qualify.

Then there's T.C.A. §5-1-104.

That statute specifically includes county school board members when addressing vacancies in county offices.

And here's where this gets really interesting:

The statute provides a process for an election to fill a vacancy even when the normal qualifying deadline has already passed. Candidates can qualify under a separate deadline tied to the election.

The next general election is November 3, 2026.

So it appears the law gives us a path for the voters of District 11 to elect their representative this November, rather than simply waiting until 2028.

The next steps we are watching:

→ Hamilton County Commission: When will the vacancy be formally filled on an interim basis?

→ Hamilton County Election Commission: Will the District 11 vacancy be placed on the November 3 ballot?

→ Candidates: What will the qualifying process and deadline be for anyone who wants to run?

→ District 11 voters: When will YOU get the opportunity to choose your representative?

And one thing we've learned while digging through Tennessee Code:

Pay attention when the law says "SHALL."

That's not usually a suggestion.

This is an elected school board seat representing families in District 11. The people who live in that district should have a voice in who represents them.

Parents shouldn't have to be attorneys to understand how their elected representatives are chosen.

We'll be paying attention. We hope the County Commission will follow the law and clearly explain the process to the communities they serve. Parents and voters shouldn't have to dig through Tennessee Code to understand how their elected representation will be handled. They deserve transparency, clarity, and a voice in who represents them.