About the Founder
It all started when…
In 2004 a group of parents and concerned citizens decided to open a public charter school for at-risk students who were not being successful in the regular classrooms in the Memphis Public Schools. An application for Southern Avenue Charter Elementary School of Academic Excellence and Creative Arts was written and approved by the Tennessee Department of Education and Memphis City Schools. In August 2005 the school opened. The mission of the school was to teach the “whole child” and prepare that child to be a successful citizen…reading on grade level by 6th grade.
Today, Southern Avenue Elementary has grown from 69 to over 450 scholars, boasting a Level 5 on the TCAP (the top score on the state’s exam rating scale).