Emerald Academy Posts Historic Academic Results, Outperforming State and Knox County Proficiency Rates

Scholars participate during a lesson at Emerald Academy.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Emerald Academy, Knoxville’s first and only public charter school, posted its best results in school history during 2025-2026, its 11th year of operation.

The school, located in the historic Moses School Building in Old Mechanicsville, was founded in 2015 with a mission to prepare kindergarten through eighth grade urban scholars for the college of their choice and community leadership.

Emerald Academy continues to deliver on its mission by achieving historic results: multiple grade levels across multiple subject areas outperformed the average proficiency rates of both the State of Tennessee and Knox County Schools.

Outstanding Third Grade Results: The majority of scholars were proficient in reading and in math

• Third grade proficiency is a critical threshold for future academic success, including high school graduation.

• Given this, it is particularly encouraging to see that Emerald Academy third grade scholars outperformed their peers statewide and across Knox County Schools, with 60% of third grade scholars proficient in reading. The same is true for math, with 63% of third grade scholars proficient.

• This is particularly notable given that statewide third grade reading results this year were the highest they have been in nearly a decade.

Significant Five-Year Gains in Student Proficiency: Emerald Academy’s gains outpaced the district’s impressive gains

• Schoolwide proficiency across all tested subjects over the past five years nearly doubled, increasing from 21% to 38%. This reflects five consecutive years of increases in proficiency.

• Results in every tested subject area were equally impressive:

  • Reading: Increased from 19.1% to 34.2%, a 79% increase (+15 percentage points).

  • Math: Increased from 20.3% to 38.7%, a 91% increase (+18 percentage points).

  • Science: Increased from 26.2% to 37%, a 41% increase (+11 percentage points).

  • Social studies: Increased from 17.5% to 47.7%, a 172% increase (+30 percentage points), the largest gain by far.

• These gains set the course of a trendline school leaders hope will continue for years to come.

Lower-Income Scholars are Excelling at Emerald Academy: They demonstrate greater proficiency than their peers across the district and across the state in every tested subject

• Emerald Academy was founded to change the academic trajectory for urban youth, and these results are clear evidence that Emerald Academy is fulfilling that promise for both the elementary and the middle school grades.

• Emerald Academy's lower-income scholars were #3 in third grade reading proficiency out of the 53 public elementary schools in Knox County.

• Emerald Academy's lower-income scholars were #2 in seventh grade math proficiency out of the 19 public middle schools in Knox County.

• In both categories, the only schools that outperformed Emerald Academy featured far less racial and economic diversity and are located in suburban areas.

“Seeing these results reassures me, yet again, that Emerald Academy has been the right choice for our family,” said Nicole Lattimore, mother of an Emerald Academy scholar. “Emerald is a gem in our community, and as our daughter prepares to complete eighth grade this year, I know she will do so having had a solid foundation, well prepared for continuing her educational journey.”

While these results are impressive, school leaders acknowledge there is still work to do.

“I am very proud of our scholars, faculty and families for these unprecedented results in the history of Emerald Academy,” said School Director Carlissa Weeks. “Moving forward, we are relentlessly focused on ensuring these results and trends continue.”

To do that, several strategies have been identified, including continuing to improve outcomes in English Language Arts, as well as remaining focused throughout the year on academic rigor, pacing and urgency across all grade levels.

“I am deeply grateful for these results and the work of our faculty,” said Steve Diggs, President, Emerald Charter Schools. “Even after 11 years, the story is just beginning, and I’m excited to have a front row seat to what God is doing in our city.”

Emerald Academy is a public school, but as a nonprofit charter school, it relies on philanthropy to provide needed intervention services, counseling and behavioral health services, and facility improvements, among others. Donations in support of Emerald Academy can be made at www.emeraldacademy.org/donate. For more information regarding enrollment, visit www.emeraldacademy.org or call (865) 249-7223. Translation services are available.