TCSC

What TCSC does

Tennessee Charter School Center (TCSC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charter school support organization (CSO) headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, with a regional office in Memphis. Founded in 2013 through the merger of the Tennessee Charter Schools Association (established 1998) and the Tennessee Charter School Incubator (launched 2009), TCSC serves as the state's primary CSO, supporting 112 charter schools and over 38,000 students across Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville, and Chattanooga. Its mission is to cultivate high-performing public charter schools and advocate for autonomy, accountability, and choice in Tennessee public education.

TCSC delivers services across five core areas: policy expertise and legislative advocacy; charter school application, renewal, and appeal support; facilities support; governing board training and certification via the BoardSmart program; and quality school support and professional development. It also operates practical tools and convenings, including a School Finder map-based search tool, a TCSC Job Board, the Nashville Charter Collaborative, and toolkits for school tours, quality standards, and grassroots advocacy. The organization runs an annual Tennessee Charter School Champion Awards program and Changemaker Lists recognizing top-performing member schools. There is no proprietary technology platform; TCSC is fundamentally a service and advocacy organization whose infrastructure consists of a website, member portal, and policy/legislative tracking workflows.

TCSC's business model is multi-stream nonprofit funding. It collects recurring membership dues from charter schools for access to legislative engagement, board training, data/research, and crisis communications. It also generates revenue from Board on Track non-member board training at $1,250 per year, facilitates start-up grants funded by the Walton Family Foundation for newly authorized charter schools, and accepts donations via PayPal. Day-to-day operations are supported through a contracted partnership with USFRC, LLC, whose principal Cameron Quick serves as contracted COO. The organization is governed by a board including representatives of The City Fund, Haslam Foundation, and Hyde Family Foundations, and is currently in a CEO transition following the tenure of Elizabeth Fiveash.

Name

TCSC

Legal name

Tennessee Charter School Center

Website

https://tnchartercenter.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Tennessee Charter School Center (TCSC) is a Nashville-based nonprofit support organization that advocates for charter school policy and provides training, facilities support, and member services to 112 public charter schools across Tennessee.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Charter School Support Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Charter School Networks (Multi-Site) (EDAJACAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Charter School Authorizers & Oversight Boards (EDADABAB)

Keywords

• Charter school support
• Education policy advocacy
• School board training
• Charter school incubation
• Education nonprofit services

Headquarters

HQ city

Nashville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: TCSC charges membership dues to charter schools, providing exclusive access to meetings with elected officials, weekly legislative calls, input on TCSC's legislative agenda, governing board training, data/research support, and communication support including crisis management.
2. Start-up Grants: TCSC facilitates and manages the Walton Family Foundation's start-up grant program for newly authorized charter schools in Tennessee.
3. Donations: TCSC accepts donations through PayPal to support their mission of advancing charter schools in Tennessee.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

TCSC is Tennessee's primary charter school support organization (CSO) that provides policy and advocacy services, charter school application/renewal/appeal support, facilities support, governing board training, and professional development to charter schools across the state. Formed in 2013 from the merger of the Tennessee Charter Schools Association (1998) and the Tennessee Charter School Incubator (2009), the organization operates as a membership-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit serving approximately 112 charter schools and 38,000+ students.

Product overview

TCSC (Tennessee Charter School Center) is a nonprofit charter school support organization (CSO) that provides a comprehensive suite of services to support and cultivate high-performing charter schools in Tennessee. The organization operates a platform of interconnected programs including policy and advocacy services, charter school application and renewal support, facilities support, BoardSmart certification (governing board training), the Nashville Charter Collaborative, a TCSC Job Board, and Quality School Support. TCSC also offers practical toolkits (School Tour Toolkit, Quality Standards Toolkit, Everyday Advocacy Toolkit) and resources like Charter 101, Application Support, and Start-up Grants for new charter schools. A membership program provides additional exclusive access to legislative engagement, training, and research support. The organization serves schools across Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville, and Chattanooga.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• BoardSmart: Board and Governance Training & Certification program for charter school board members.
• Nashville Charter Collaborative

Products and services

• Policy and Advocacy Services Statewide policy and legislative advocacy on behalf of charter schools in Tennessee, representing the charter sector before policymakers and education stakeholders.
• Charter School Application and Renewal Support Assistance to charter school operators with initial applications, renewals, and appeals processes before authorizers and the Tennessee Charter School Commission.
• Facilities Support Guidance and resources to charter schools on facilities planning, financing, and operations to help schools secure and maintain physical learning space.
• BoardSmart Certification

Quantifiable outcome

• 63% of Tennessee charter schools earned a 4 or 5 TVAAS growth score compared to 38% of traditional public schools (2023)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Nashville Charter CollaborativecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Nashville Charter Collaborative formalizes cooperation among Nashville's high-achievement and high-growth public charter schools, providing a structure for shared professional development and teacher recruitment. Operating as a program of TCSC since Fall 2018.
• USFRC, LLC (Facility Resource Center)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerUSFRC provides contracted operations support for TCSC's daily operations. Their firm brings expertise in business and operations support, financial and facility advising, educational leadership, and national facilities ecosystems. Cameron Quick serves as Chief Operating Officer through this contracted relationship.
• Tennessee State Board of EducationminorOthersThe State Board of Education acts as an authorizer upon appeal for charter applicants in school districts with priority schools. TCSC collaborates on policy and compliance matters.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Florida Charter School Alliance: Florida's statewide charter school membership organization that advocates for the charter sector, supports operators, and engages legislators. Directly comparable to TCSC as a state-level CSO providing advocacy, training, and resources to charter schools.
• Colorado League of Charter Schools: Colorado's statewide charter school membership and advocacy association, providing services including board training, advocacy, and operator support. Directly comparable to TCSC's role as the state-level CSO for Tennessee charter schools.
• New Schools for New Orleans: NSNO is a New Orleans-based charter support organization that incubated and supports a portfolio of charter schools and was explicitly cited as a model for TCSC's predecessor. Both combine new-school incubation, policy advocacy, and operator support for a region's charter sector.
• California Charter Schools Association (CCSA): CCSA is the statewide membership and advocacy organization for California's charter schools, providing policy advocacy, member services, and convenings. Like TCSC, it operates as the unified voice for charter schools in its state and provides board training, legal/policy support, and communications.
• Massachusetts Charter Public School Association: Massachusetts's statewide charter school membership and advocacy organization supporting charter public schools across the state. Mirrors TCSC's model of combining legislative advocacy, member services, and capacity-building for charter operators.
• New York City Charter Center: NYC Charter Center is the city-level charter school support organization that the Tennessee Charter School Incubator (TCSC's predecessor) was modeled after. Both organizations incubate new schools, train leaders, and provide ongoing operational and advocacy support to charter operators.
• National Charter Collaborative: National network of high-performing charter school operators that collaborate on shared priorities. Compares to TCSC's Nashville Charter Collaborative, which operates as a program of TCSC for similar shared professional development and operator networking.

Broad incumbents

• National Alliance for Public Charter Schools: National-level advocacy and research organization for the charter sector. While TCSC operates at the state level, NAPCS plays the analogous umbrella/federal advocacy role and provides resources that state CSOs like TCSC leverage.
• National Charter School Resource Center (NCSRC): Federally supported resource center providing tools, training, and technical assistance to charter schools and support organizations nationwide. Overlaps with TCSC's application/renewal support and operator capacity-building services.

Emerging players

• Charter Schools Development Corporation (CSDC): Nonprofit that finances and supports charter school facilities across multiple states. Comparable to TCSC's facilities support function, including the contracted USFRC relationship that brings facility expertise and capital to charter operators.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/tncharters
• Xx.com/tncharters
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tennessee-charter-school-center

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about TCSC