Students from Nashville’s chapter of the Sunrise Movement urged members of the Metro Nashville Board of Education to be more proactive in the battle against climate change during Tuesday’s meeting.Hillsboro High School senior and Sunrise Movement member Sophia Payne told board members she was grateful for the environmentally conscious school renovations taking place and that it is crucial to continue addressing global environmental issues.

On the morning of September 18, the Dean of Instruction for Stanford Montessori Elementary School used her publicly funded time and email address to do something that had nothing to do with the education of her students.Sarah Blanchard sent out emails to not only encourage some of her school’s parents to oppose a proposed Montessori school, she also gave them questionable talking points for how to speak out from School Board Member and Stanford Montessori parent Dr. Berthena Nabaa-McKinney.

Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) Board of Education says Director Dr. Adrienne Battle met every expectation for the 2022-23 school year.Board members provided that positive evaluation at Tuesday night’s meeting.

A seemingly routine rule change involving the process of reviewing local school districts that authorize public charter schools faced opposition from Nashville lawmakers in the Tennessee General Assembly’s Joint Government Operations Committee Thursday.The rule change Nashville lawmakers objected to allows the State Board of Education to use only external evaluators when conducting those reviews instead of both internal and external reviewers that are currently required. Board Deputy Executive Director Nathan James told members of the Joint Government Operations Committee this rule change is needed to avoid conflicts of interest.

Metro-Nashville Public Schools broke ground Thursday morning on the new and updated Lakeview Elementary Design Center.The district plans to build the school on its existing campus in south Davidson County’s Antioch community over a multi-year period.“This groundbreaking event is symbolic of our city’s commitment to educational excellence for every child in Metro Nashville Public Schools and it marks the beginning of a new era in how we educate our children here in the Antioch community. We’re preparing our students for the rest of their lives, and it has never been more exciting than right now,” said Lakeview principal Shantrell Pirtle.

The US Department of Education has awarded Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) the Magnet Schools Assistance Program (MSAP) grant for the third time in six years. The grant totals nearly $15 million and is to be utilized by the school district within the next five years.

Dr. Brenda Jones made Nashville education history Friday by not just becoming the first Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) graduate to open a public charter school, but also the first former district teacher to do so.Members of the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission voted unanimously to approve Jones’ appeal to open Invictus Nashville Charter School.  The vote overturns a July decision by the MNPS Board of Education to deny Invictus.

Four proposed public charter schools in Memphis, Nashville, and Jackson are all receiving new support from a key state board leader.Tennessee Public Charter School Commission Executive Director Tess Stovall recommended commissioners approve those schools’ appeals at two meetings later this week.

The Metro Nashville School Board indefinitely deferred a proposed major change to the district’s magnet school policy Tuesday to allow for more discussion on how to make two highly sought after high schools more representative of the district’s diversity.Board member Emily Masters proposed eliminating the priority students who attend one of the four feeder middle school magnets receive for a direct pathway into Martin Luther King Jr. Magnet High School or Hume-Fogg Academic High School.The change would ensure all qualified students are subject to the same lottery selection process at these two schools.

More than 30 parents in Donelson and Hermitage wrote the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission to urge members to overturn a decision by the Metro Nashville Public School Board.Last July board members denied Invictus Nashville Charter School’s application open a Montessori based K-8 public charter for students in the Donelson and Hermitage communities. Invictus supporters appealed to the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission whose members have the option of overturning local district denials.

Nashville Collegiate Prep’s (NCP) appeal to open a high school in southeast Davidson County is finding support from those who are still too young to drive. More than a dozen middle and elementary school students submitted handwritten letters to the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission in support of the proposed public charter school.“NCP Middle School is already perfect so why not make it ‘perfecter?’” wrote student Aung Du. “Since the school would be bigger, there would be more sports fields. Also, there would be more than just P.E. There would be STEM, art, computer, Robotics, (chorus), etc. I hope you’ll accept to build the high school!”Organizations ReThink Forward Inc. and the Noble Education Initiative would partner to oversee the proposed high school that would serve as an extension of the existing Nashville Collegiate Prep elementary and middle school, but members of the Metro Nashville School Board unanimously voted the application down in July.

The Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence (BRSE) has named Nashville’s Alex Green Design Technology Magnet Elementary School a 2023 Blue Ribbon School of Excellence, Beacon School.Alex Green received the honor following a review of nine categories that measure school organization and culture, technology integration, and indicators of success among other categories.  

Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) announced a new partnership designed to provide more high school students with access to college-credit bearing courses.That partnership with the National Education Equity Lab (Ed Equity Lab) will begin with pilot programs this fall at Maplewood High School and Antioch High School to provide students with the opportunity to enroll in college-level courses at no cost.

Metro Nashville Public Schools unveiled the names of 33 schools achieving the highest level of academic growth on the Tennessee Value Added Assessment System (TVAAS) at Tuesday’s school board meeting.Those schools include 19 elementary schools, 8 middle schools, 5 high schools, and Stratford STEM Magnet Lower School.The district itself also achieved a Level 5 TVAAS score for the second time in a row. The last time MNPS experienced two consecutive years of growth was in 2014 and 2015.“We have been seeing tremendous outcomes in the TVAAS numbers we’ve gotten back from the state this year with the biggest headline of course being that we achieved Level 5 status as a district for the second year in a row,” said Dr. Adrienne Battle, MNPS Director of Schools. “That accomplishment in back-to-back school years is a beautiful reflection of the amazing work that our students, teachers, building leaderships, support staff, parents, community partners, the support of staff with excellent guidance from our board members. A first-rate team effort all around.”

Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) did something different this year when school board members voted to deny three applications to open new public charter schools.The district presented an estimated cost each proposed school would create for MNPS if approved, with public dollars following students leaving traditional public schools for a new public charter school.

A new dashboard launched by the Tennessee Comptroller this week will help parents navigate through misinformation about public charter schools.  The dashboard allows users to research the racial demographics and enrollment numbers of districts that offer public charter schools, and the specific info for each school.

Goodlettsville’s Old Center Elementary students will once again need to attend classes in another school Wednesday.Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) initially relocated those students to Goodlettsville Elementary Tuesday on the advice of the Nashville Fire Department to ensure the safety of our students, staff, and faculty.

Fisk University’s Board of Trustees announced Girl Scout Leader Dr. Agenia Walker Clark as the university’s new president.Clark will be the 18th president and the third female head in Fisk’s history.

Multiple parents of students who attend Stanford Montessori Elementary school in Nashville’s Donelson community made the trip downtown Monday morning to speak out against a proposed public charter school that would also provide a Montessori based education in the area.They may have inadvertently made the case for the proposed school’s approval.