Megan Boehnke

USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee

Two charter schools targeting troubled and at-risk youth - one from a Florida-based nonprofit and the other a local organization that has tried to open a school for years - submitted letters of intent to file an application with the state and Knox County Schools.

AMIkids, which has seven schools in five states across the South, and Dream Academy, a proposed K-12 school sponsored by the local nonprofit Genesis Rock, submitted their letters before the Feb. 1 deadline. The final applications are due by April 1.

The county currently has just one charter school, Emerald Academy, which opened in the former Moses School Building in Mechanicsville in 2015. Charter schools seeking to open facilities must fill out an application to submit to both the school district and the Tennessee Department of Education. A local review committee will then score the applications and make a recommendation to the Knox County school board on whether to approve the proposal.

AMIkids plans to open its alternative school in 2018 with 180 students in middle school grades, and then gradually expand over the next five years to 480 students through grade 12. The organization, which also runs day treatment, residential programs and family services operations across nine states, did not list a location for the new school. It currently has alternative schools in Louisiana, South Carolina, North Carolina, Missouri and Florida.

Phildra Swagger, the organization's vice president for education and listed contact for the application, did not return calls for comment Monday.

In its letter of intent, AMIkids said it would focus on "overage middle school students and high school students" who could benefit from academic and behavioral interventions. This would include troubled students who disrupt classrooms, have fallen behind academically and who may have discipline records for things like assault of fellow students, threatening teachers and bringing drugs or weapons onto campus. The student body would likely include high numbers of minority students and those who receive free or reduced lunches, the school said.

"Youth will participate in pro-social community service learning projects that promote student citizenship and a positive reputation for our students in the community," school officials wrote. "We will provide linkages between the youth we serve and the business community to facilitate vocational training ... and future employment."

AMIkids has run into issues in at least one of its other schools. Three administrators were arrested at the Shreveport, La., campus in the fall after allegations that they failed to report sexually inappropriate touching of a female student by two male students.

Meanwhile, Dream Academy, backed by local nonprofit Genesis Rock, has submitted a letter of intent each year since 2014 without following through on an application. In 2013, the nonprofit aimed to turn Vine Middle School into a charter school, also under the name Dream Academy, but that application was rejected by the school board.

Russ Smith, director of Genesis Rock, said he expects to submit a full application this year after spending the last six months exploring data on trauma among inner-city youth and adding more team members with expertise in that area, he said.

"We’ve made a lot of headway in the last six months," Smith said Monday. "It’s a heavy lift. It’s a big deal and we're having discussions with organization interested in helping recruit students for us."