Frequently Asked Questions

General Questions

Who can attend Skillern Elementary?

When Skillern reaches full capacity in future years, any Kindergarten-5th grade student in Hamilton County may attend this FREE public charter school of choice. For the 2024-2025 school year, we are offering spots in Kindergarten through 3rd grade. In order to enroll in Kindergarten, students must be 5 years old by August 15th. In order to be eligible for 1st-3rd grade, they must have completed a year of Kindergarten,1st, or 2nd grade respectively.

What grades are offered at Skillern Elementary and how many students can attend?

For the 2024-2025 school year, we will be offering 4 sections each of Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd Grade and 2 sections of 3rd grade. In following years, we will add a grade level each year to accommodate rising students through 5th grade, and four new sections of Kindergarten annually. Average class size for Kindergarten is 18 students and average class size for 1st-3rd grade is 20 students.

Where is Skillern located?

For the current year and the 2024-2025 school year, Kindergarten and 3rd grade classes are housed at Daisy Church of God, 9555 Dayton Pike, Soddy-Daisy, where we have rented classroom space. First and Second grade classes are just a mile and a half down the road from the Church Campus, across the street from Ivy Academy at 8443 Dayton Pike, 37379, where we rent space in portables until our campus is built. We are building a permanent home on 30 acres at the base of the mountain located behind the portables. Our aim is to move into that space by 2025.

Is there free transportation to Skillern Elementary?

Free transportation is provided from cluster sites around the county. We do not offer curb service stops. View our bus schedule here.

What are school hours?

The school day on both campuses is 8:15-3:15. The drop-off window for scholars eating school breakfast is 8:00-8:05 and 8:00-8:15 for all other scholars. On the church campus, scholars who arrive after 8:15 should be dropped at the office (back of gym building) to sign in late.

The student pickup window is between 3:15 and 3:30. Scholars who are not picked up by 3:30 will enter aftercare. Aftercare cost is $7/day. If you have a kindergarten scholar who is late being picked up, a staff member will be required to stay late with your scholar, as the bus to take students to aftercare at the creek campus will already have left, so $7 will be charged for pickups before 4:00 and $1/minute will be charged after that. In this case, pickup will take place at the church campus. For all pre-planned aftercare, pickup will be at the creek campus.

Does Skillern offer before and after care?

Yes, before care is available from 7:15-8:15, and aftercare from 3:30-5:30. All students, including Kindergarten, will be dropped off and picked up for before care and aftercare at the creek campus. Kindergarten scholars will ride the bus between campuses. The cost is $5 for each morning and $7 for each afternoon. These prices are dependent upon a minimum number of students utilizing the service. Late pickups from aftercare (pickups after 5:30) will be charged $1/minute. Payments can be made at the church campus reception desk or on EZ School Apps.

If your Kindergarten scholar is in aftercare because of a late pickup, they must remain on the church campus with a staff member, as the bus to take scholars to aftercare will already have left. Because this will require a staff member to stay late, $7 will be charged for pickups before 4:00 and $1/minute will be charged after that.

Is there a tuition associated with a public charter school?

No. Public charter schools are a form of a free public education.

Is Skillern Elementary a religious school?

No. As a publicly funded educational institution, Skillern has a legal obligation to neither advance nor inhibit religions. It also, like every other public school in the nation, has Federal Government protection to teach about major world religions. All curriculum materials used in Skillern are secular and, as should be the case with any public school, faculty and staff who attempt to teach their religious beliefs as part of the curriculum will not be tolerated.

What are charter schools? Are they the same as magnet schools?

Charter and magnet Schools share some common characteristics: they are both public schools, they each have distinctive curricular themes, and with the exception of a few zoned magnet schools, students and their families choose to attend charter and magnet schools.  If more students and families want to attend charter and magnet schools, both categories of schools use lotteries to ensure fairness in selecting applicants with, if the school has been open or is part of a group of schools, some consideration for legacies; children who have siblings in associated schools.

Unlike magnet schools who local school district central offices created, and who report directly to the district central office and the district school boards, groups of private citizens write charter school proposals that are then subject to local, district, and state approval before a charter school can open.  Charter schools, unlike magnets, have their own independent school boards, are public schools but not considered to be local district schools. Charter schools enjoy more autonomy than magnet schools. Charter schools  are still subject to oversight by local district and state educational authorities.

What qualifications does Skillern require of its teachers?

In compliance with Tennessee law, all homeroom teachers hold Tennessee teaching licenses and all teachers pledge to uphold the Tennessee Teacher Code of Ethics.

Does Skillern have a uniform?

Yes. In order to level the playing field socially, foster an atmosphere of respect, minimize distraction, and elevate the tone, students are required to wear uniforms. Additionally, because of the hybrid indoor/outdoor model, Skillern has a uniform to ensure that students are always ready for outdoor learning.

Do charter schools service IEP’s for special education students as district schools do?

Yes, charter schools service IEP’s and are held to the same IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act) standards as other public schools.

Does your school serve lunch just like other public schools?

We participate in the Federal Free and Reduced Lunch Program like other public schools.

Curriculum Questions

Is there an association related to the curriculum?

Skillern Elementary is pioneering the Tennessee Classical Model. We utilize these core texts: Math - Singapore Math, Science - Core Knowledge Science, Reading - Literacy Essentials, Social Studies - Core Knowledge History and Geography.

What is the curricular model?

Skillern Elementary is Chattanooga’s first classical charter school. As a classical school, students pursue goodness, truth, and beauty as their minds, hearts, and imaginations are nurtured by their study of the liberal arts and sciences. Additionally, Skillern utilizes a hybrid indoor/outdoor model. Extending and benefitting from Ivy Academy’s success in outdoor education, all Skillern elementary students will benefit in multiple ways from the systematic and direct contact with and study of nature. To learn more about our curricular model, visit the Tennessee Classical Model page.

How much homework should a student expect?

Nightly homework is a regular part of our academic program. In general, students should expect ten minutes of homework per grade level. Thus, the typical first-grader should anticipate 10 minutes of homework each evening on average, whereas the typical fourth-grader should expect roughly a 40 minutes of homework each evening.

In addition to regular classroom assignments, we would like each younger child to read, or be read to, at least three times a week and preferably every day. As cited in A Nation at Risk, “the single most important factor for determining whether children will go to college is being read to as a child.” Going to college is not necessarily a goal for everyone, but becoming a thoughtful reader should be if one hopes to be knowledgeable, wise, insightful, and competitive throughout one’s lifetime.

Is Skillern Elementary a STEM school?

Because of the logical thinking processes involved with the classical model, the environment in which learning takes place, and the rigorous science and mathematics curricula, Skillern Elementary meets the expectations of a STEM school while still fully providing a liberal arts education.

Enrollment Questions

When should I apply?

Specific enrollment dates will be provided each year, but in general, enrollment runs from November to February for the following school year. See our Enrollment page for more information.

What happens if more people apply than the school has open spots for?

If more students apply than the school has spots for, the names go into a lottery. The lottery is monitored and approved by the state and is held in February for the following school year.

Are siblings of Ivy Academy Chattanooga students given priority for enrollment at Skillern Elementary?

Siblings of returning Ivy Academy students are given priority at Skillern Elementary.

Are siblings of students at Skillern Elementary given priority for enrollment in Ivy Academy Chattanooga?

Siblings of returning Skillern Elementary students are given priority at Ivy Academy.