Title IX Information
Title IX Charter School Presentation
Valor Title IX Coordinator: Ashley Smith, asmith@valorcollegiate.org
Public Ch 744 Information
Valor uses MNPS’s materials selection and reconsideration policies as their authorizer:
School Library Materials Selection Policy
School Library Materials Reconsideration Policy
Board of Directors & Public Information
To contact our Board of Directors, please email boardofdirectors@valorcollegiate.org
Rascoe Dean
Board Member
Rascoe Dean is an Assistant U.S. Attorney. Before attending Vanderbilt School of Law, Mr. Dean spent two years as a 10th and 11th grade English teacher for Teach for America in Memphis. Since leaving the classroom, Mr. Dean has remained passionate about ensuring that all students have the opportunity to receive a high quality education. He also serves on Teach for America’s Alumni Board for the Nashville-Chattanooga region.
Casey Duhart
Board Member
Casey Duhart is the Chief Labor & Employment Counsel for Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc. She provides legal advice and counsel regarding allegations of discrimination, harassment, retaliation and wrongful discharge claims brought under federal and state employment laws and regulations. Ms. Duhart earned her JD, cum laude, from the University of Tennessee College of Law where she served as Editor-in-Chief of the Tennessee Law Review. She is the Chair of the Tennessee Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Law Section. Prior to becoming an attorney, Ms. Duhart earned a bachelor and master’s degree in special education. She taught for ten years in both the middle and high school settings. In her spare time, she speaks at various conferences about employment law issues and solutions.
Kevin Huffman
Board Member
Kevin Huffman is the CEO of Accelerate, a national nonprofit launched to support the growth and success of tutoring and personalized learning in public schools. Huffman is the former Tennessee Commissioner of Education, where he was managed the state department of education in its effort to advance the academic progress of nearly one million students. During Huffman’s tenure, Tennessee had the largest state gains on the National Assessment of Educational Progress – commonly called “the nation’s report card” – including the largest gains for African American students. Huffman led a transformation of state policies and an overhaul of the state education agency, resulting in growth in state test results, ACT scores, and high school graduation rates during his term.
Sam Jackson
Board Secretary
Sam Jackson provides proactive legal counsel to business management leaders in human resources counseling, employment litigation, and traditional labor law, identifying risks and equipping clients with the tools necessary to minimize the time and resources spent on costly litigation. He practices in the areas of labor and employment and education law, focusing on a variety of legal issues including employment of licensed and classified employees, employee contracts, employee and student discipline, employee and student rights, special education and disability accommodation, First Amendment issues, sexual harassment and civil rights matters, desegregation, tort liability, school finance and taxation, and school construction. Sam serves as a Rule 31 Listed Mediator in the field of General Civil Mediation in the state of Tennessee. Sam and his wife, Jessica, have two daughters, Anna and Leah. He spends most of his free time at swim meets watching his daughters compete for Bryant University and Ensworth Aquatics. He also enjoys spending time outdoors camping, hunting, and hiking.
Brandi Kellett
Board Chair
Brandi Kellett is the Assistant Director for General Education and Integrated Learning at Lipscomb University. She has taught literature at Lipscomb for over a decade. She earned her PhD in Caribbean and American Literature and Postcolonial Studies in 2010 from the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida, where she taught literature as well. She trains organizations in cultural competency, bias recognition and correcting injustice, and speaks about identity, community action, traumatic history, spirituality and race. She and her husband have four children, and are a founding family at Valor Collegiate Academies, with a graduate of the founding class of 2022, and two other children currently at Valor College Prep and Valor Flagship.
Cristina Muñoz
Board Member
Cristina Muñoz has a passion for racial justice and brings extensive expertise in people development and management, equitably designed policies and practices, culture building and professional learning design. She is the People & Culture Lead at Wend Collective, a philanthropic organization exploring pathway to a better world. Prior to joining Went, Cristina spent over 8 years Education First, serving most recently as the Chief People & Equity Officer. She is also a former elementary and secondary teacher, working in both traditional district and charter schools in Houston, Texas. Cristina earned her B.A. in Political Science at the University of Notre Dame and holds a Master of Public Policy from Vanderbilt University. She lives in Nashville, TN with her husband Tony and dog Lincoln.
Matt Nicholson
Board Treasurer
Matt serves as the Director of Construction and Operations at The Clear Blue Company. Matt is active in the Nashville philanthropic community, currently serving on the advisory board of Habitat for Humanity of Greater Nashville in addition to his role at Valor. Matt is a native to Nashville and is married (Brooke) with two young children, Charlie and Elly. Beyond the full time hobby of raising two kids, Matt enjoys live music and all things outdoors including golf, trail running, fly fishing and cycling.
Associate Board Members
Ben Schumacher
Board Meeting Dates for 2024-2025
Wednesday, September 4, 2024
Wednesday, November 6, 2024
Wednesday, March 5, 2025
Wednesday, May 7, 2025
Board meetings are open to the public and generally held from 8:30-11am on the above dates at 4531 Nolensville Pike, Suite 200, Nashville TN 37211. If you wish to attend a meeting, please email tdickson@valorcollegiate.org to confirm the meeting time, agenda, and location or instructions.
Past Meeting Minutes
2023-2024 FY
Friday, February 16, 2024 (Minutes)
Friday, November 17, 2023 (Minutes)
Friday, September 8, 2023 (Minutes)
2022-2023 FY
Friday, May 19, 2023 (Minutes)
Friday, February 17, 2023 (Minutes)
Friday, November 18, 2022 (Minutes)
Friday, September 16, 2022 – (Minutes)
2021-2022 FY
Friday, July 9, 2021 – Specially Called Meeting (Minutes)
Wednesday, July 21, 2021 – Specially Called Meeting (Minutes)
Friday, September 17, 2021 (Minutes)
Friday, November 19, 2021 (Minutes)
Friday, February 18, 2022 (Minutes)
Friday, May 20, 2022 (Minutes will be posted when approved)
EE 17 Archive link
Bylaws and Policies
Additional Governance Documents
- Disclosures of Valor Board of Directors FY24-25
- Valor Flagship Academy/Valor College Prep Charter Application
- Valor Flagship Academy/Valor College Prep-MNPS Charter Agreement
- Valor Flagship Academy/Valor College Prep – MNPS Charter Amendment (2020)
- Valor Voyager Academy Charter Application
- Valor Voyager Academy- MNPS Charter Agreement
- Valor Voyager Academy – MNPS Charter Amendment (2020)
Requests for Proposals, State or Federally Mandated Policies
- Valor Collegiate Academies Foundational Literacy Skills Plan (Approved June 14, 2024)