Some KCS board members say issues at Chattanooga prep are "not surprising" and are raising questions about leadership at Knox Prep.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — In light of concerns regarding a teacher under federal investigation for sex crimes at Chattanooga Prep Academy, some school board members of the Knox County Board of Education are asking questions.
In April 2023, Knox County Schools gave its approval to Prep Public Schools, which runs Chattanooga Prep, to open a school in Knoxville, Knox Prep. Knox Prep is an all-boys charter school that can follow its own student performance and curriculum rules but receives public tax dollars, and operates within Knox County.
In February, a Chattanooga Prep teacher, Kenya White, was arrested on several charges of sexual exploitation of a minor by electronic means, solicitation of a minor and kidnapping.
In March, White was arrested again. He now faces federal charges on top of his original ones, including enticement of a minor and exploitation of a minor.
NBC-affiliate Local 3 News found in records requests that Chatt Prep had knowledge of a disciplinary hold on his file while he was under a Department of Children's Services investigation, but decided to hire him anyway. Personnel files showed White had been placed on unpaid leave by Hamilton County Schools in 2023.
The news station also learned that Chatt Prep was not set up to background check teachers through the state's department, which is required by law.
Credit: Local 3 News
Since then, Chatt Prep's principal, Diamond Kelley, was put on leave while local agencies and the school system "reviewed the Kenya White situation." On March 6, Kelley resigned.
Chatt Prep also confirmed the Human Resources coordinator also stepped down earlier than expected, taking an early retirement.
That raised concerns for school board members like Anne Templeton, who said although she wasn't on the board when Knox Prep was approved, she is asking more questions.
WBIR reached out to all school board members via email, with no response from all but three members. John Butler declined to comment.
WBIR also attempted to reach Betsy Henderson, the chair of Knox County Schools, by phone and text, as well as Steve Triplett, the vice chair, at least three times. WBIR did not receive a response by the time this story was published. They both voted to approve establishing Knoxville Prep.
Katherine Bike, another school board member, was on the board when Knox Prep was approved, but did not vote in favor of the school.
"I am shocked at the news regarding Chatt Prep," Bike said. "Though when I think about the application and documents provided during the application process of Knox Prep, I am not surprised at PREP Schools’ inability to meet or exceed standards set by the state. I have asked Knox County Schools central office to look into teacher licensure and other requirements with regard to Knox Prep."
Knox County Schools provided the following statement, where they outlined their role with Knox Prep as their authorizer.
The Knox County Board of Education has an agreement with Prep Public Schools to operate Knoxville Preparatory School. The role of KCBOE as the authorizer is to provide guidance and oversee compliance with the agreement and applicable laws. Since January 2024, various departments within Knox County Schools have worked with the team at Knoxville Preparatory School to establish the expectations for Knox County as they opened a school in our district.
WBIR also asked KCS leaders if they were responsible for running background checks for Knox Prep employees through DCS.
"Knoxville Preparatory School is run by Prep Public Schools," said Carly Harrington, Chief of Communications for KCS, in an email. "All teachers and staff of the charter school are employed by the school and not the authorizer."
Credit: WBIR
Prep Public Schools interim CEO Micah Bess provided the following statement in response to WBIR's question regarding reassurance for parents at Knox Prep, as concerns linger about sexual misconduct accusations against White at Chatt Prep.
A statement from the charter school organization is available below.
"Knox Prep students are safe at school. All personnel being considered for employment at Knox Prep are required to undergo several levels of background checks to ensure every one of our scholars is safe while learning. Chattanooga Prep is working to hire an outside firm that specializes in HR practices to review the school's past and current processes to ensure the school's process for conducting these checks is performed without exception. Lessons learned from that review will be applied to Knox Prep if necessary. Neither Chattanooga Prep nor Knoxville Prep will allow this situation to distract from our mission to prepare the next generation of young men for success in our communities."
In a follow-up email, WBIR asked what steps are in place to prevent what happened at Chatt Prep from happening at Knox Prep. Prep Public Schools' response is available below.
"The extraordinary actions Chattanooga Prep has taken since learning of Mr. White’s arrest related to allegations made while he was a public school teacher include firing Mr. White, placing on leave senior school staff, making counseling services available to members of our school community, and hiring an independent employment firm to investigate what internal HR processes at Chatt Prep could be improved.”
Prep Public Schools, which runs both Knox Prep and Chatt Prep, hired White, who had no active teaching license and had an ongoing DCS investigation. So, WBIR asked what requirements are in place for teachers.
"Per state law, teaching license requirements depend on the position. For example, coaches do not require licensure," Bess said.
WBIR reached out to Prep Public Schools regarding whether or not they had a process to complete background checks through DCS, which is required by state law.
"Our third-party legal team, which we have hired to audit our hiring processes (including our use of the DCS portal), believes they will be able to answer this question by this Friday. We will provide you with that answer as soon as it is available," Bess said.
WBIR also reached out to several members of the Knox Prep Advisory Committee, who referred us to school leaders for a comment.
WBIR has requested a full list of teachers and staff at Knox Prep. No list was available by the time this story was published..