MNPS Voices: Mariana Merritt, Coordinator Of Family Engagement

From the Metro Nashville Public Schools:

September 25, 2020

#MNPSVoices: Mariana Merritt, Coordinator of Family Engagement

Mariana Merritt didn’t always know what she wanted to be growing up, but she knew she was fascinated by people and had a desire to help others. She took that fascination and studied psychology and human services at Carson-Newman University and earned a master’s degree from the University of Tennessee in social work to help her further understand how to support people.

Merritt has worked at Metro Nashville Public Schools for nearly five years, but she has been supporting the district’s families for much longer. She previously worked with Warner Elementary School and Kirkpatrick Elementary School as a consultant through other non-profit organizations.

She initially joined MNPS as a member of the Pre-Kindergarten department, where she served as a Pre-K Coordinator. She currently serves the district as the Coordinator of Family Engagement.

Merritt counts it a privilege to lead a team of passionate, dedicated individuals. Together, she and her team are committed to building dual capacity in families and educators and enhancing partnerships to ensure that students reach their full potential both personally and academically.

“We want to come alongside families and educators to identify barriers, to connect, to provide resources, trainings and supports, and ultimately help teachers and families accomplish their shared mission of student success,” she said.

Merritt knows all too well about barriers that MNPS families can sometimes face. She herself, being a product of MNPS, is also a refugee who relocated to the United States from Romania with her family when she was only 8 years old. Despite the language barriers and economic and educational obstacles she and her family faced in their new country, she credits her parents with instilling core values that she continues to practice in her day-to-day work and home life.

“My parents were incredibly hard-working people who always told us to count our blessings, but to also be sure to share our blessings as well,” she says.

Another one of her family’s core values is gratitude. “We were taught to focus on gratitude even in the hard times, and in those hard moments we found many things to be grateful for,” she continued.

Merritt is grateful for her team’s commitment and willingness to grow, improve and adapt their practices to meet the needs of MNPS families whether it’s by helping pass out food bags, working in the help centers or providing laptop supports.

Thankful for her own teacher

She believes her early life experiences have placed her in a unique position to understand the needs of others and have given her a desire to help meet those needs.

“As a school-aged child, I remember being the recipient of ‘help’ so many times, and I wanted to be the one who could help return that support to others,” she said.

When Merritt was in 4th grade, the most influential person in her life was her Metro Schools teacher, Ms. Mangin. Mangin saw the struggles that the adjusting immigrant family faced, yet she was determined to see Merritt succeed.

“Ms. Mangin made me feel seen, valued, important and capable of achieving anything my peers could. She believed in me, and she believed that my demography did not determine my destiny.”

Merritt believed her teacher, who taught her at Old Center, was willing to go the extra mile because she recognized the struggles that Merritt and her family faced being new to the country.

“She suspended her thoughts about my parents once she realized they were unable to help me with homework, and she adjusted the variables on her end and saw beyond my deficits to help me and my family focus on my potential,” she continues.

Merritt praises Mangin with helping her press past obstacles associated with poverty, gender and immigrant status as she strives to provide the same supports for MNPS families.

Student and Family Support videos online

Merritt and her team are always looking for innovative ways to support families during virtual learning, so they intentionally partner with individuals and other departments to produce weekly mental health videos that students and families may find beneficial during this very peculiar time.

These videos are released on Thursdays and can be found on the Metro Nashville Public Schools Facebook page as well as the district’s YouTube page, listed under Student & Family Support Services.

When Merritt is not investing her time in helping students and families within MNPS, she is prioritizing spending time with her own family, traveling, swimming, hiking and having a good dance party in the kitchen with her 9-year-old daughter.

This press release was produced by the Metro Nashville Public Schools. The views expressed are the author's own.