More than 100 Recommendations Made for Metro Nashville Schools

NASHVILLE, TN — After six months of work, the 47-member transition team commissioned by new Metro Nashville Public Schools Director of Schools Shawn Joseph presented 100 recommendations for the future of MNPS Tuesday night.

Among them: moving fifth grade back into elementary schools to reduce attrition between elementary and middle schools and creating a liberal arts pathway for high-school students who do not want to participate in the Academies, Metro's skills-based curriculum that aims to prepare students for the work force.

The team was divided into four subcommittees — human resources/talent management, student achievement, school choice, and communications and community engagement — tasked with examining the strengths and challenges within MNPS and charged with creating long- and short-term recommendations to Joseph.

Joseph told The Tennessean that many of the short-term recommendations, such as a district-wide staffing audit are already underway and that many of the others could be implemented as soon as this year, while the long-term recommendations could take as long as five years to put in place.

Of course, the district is not beholden to implement any of the report's recommendations.

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The school choice committee offered some recommendations which could have broad implications, including an examination of whether all academically eligible students should be automatically entered into the annual magnet school lottery — currently students opt-in, which the committee said may hinder opportunities for families who may not be aware they have an eligible student — and distributing magnet school spots proportionally across the district to ensure that schools of choice maintain a level of diversity.

See the full transition team report and the subcommittee reports at the MNPS site.

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