FIVE SCHOOLS WILL IMPLEMENT MAGNET PROGRAMS TO INCREASE ACCESS TO RIGOROUS, THEME- AND EVIDENCE-BASED INSTRUCTION
Nashville, Tenn. (Sept. 27, 2017) - Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) has been awarded a highly competitive federal Magnet Schools Assistance Program (MSAP) grant from the Department of Education for $15 million to be used over the next five years. The district will use the grant to create new magnet programs in five elementary schools.
The addition of these five new magnet programs will support the district's goal of delivering and providing access to high quality instruction for all students as stated in the Our Students section of the Strategic Framework. Metro Schools will immediately begin planning implementation of the grant and will also consider these changes as part of the MNPS Next planning process and the recommendations it will bring to the Board of Education on October 17.
The schools slated for the grant, and their planned programs, are: Glencliff Entrepreneurship STEAM Magnet (545 students), Inglewood Environmental Sciences STEAM Magnet (230 students), Rosebank STEAM Magnet: Integrated Technology and Biological Sciences (302 students), Warner Arts Magnet (300 students), and John B. Whitsitt Environmental Engineering STEAM Magnet (451 students).
These schools were chosen because each has a high percentage of minority students enrolled -ranging from 26-51 percentage points above the district-wide average for elementary schools. The new academic focus is designed to not only provide additional opportunities to students currently enrolled in these schools, but also attract more students to enroll.
The project objectives for the MNPS MSAP are to:
- Reduce minority group isolation among African American and Hispanic students in proposed magnet schools;
- Ensure all students attending the magnet schools meet challenging academic standards and are on track to be college- and career-ready;
- Ensure that all students attending the magnet schools benefit from the magnet's educational offerings and have equal opportunities to gain magnet theme-specific value-added skills and knowledge; and
- Build the capacity within the magnet schools to provide rigorous, theme- and evidence-based instructional programs that will help promote choice and diversity in MNPS.
METRO NASHVILLE PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Metro Nashville Public Schools is one of the nation's top 50 largest school districts, preparing 88,000 students for higher education, work and life. With the goal of being the first choice for Nashville families, Metro Schools is committed to #ExceedingGreatExpectations with the mission of delivering a great public education to every student, every day. The district is earning a national reputation for urban school reform, social and emotional learning and rising academic achievement. The governing body for Metro Schools is the Metropolitan Nashville Board of Public Education, a nine-member elected body. For more information, visit MNPS.org, or follow us on Twitter @MetroSchools or Facebook /MetroSchools.