Metro Schools officials are celebrating after a record 48 schools in the district were named reward schools. Tennessee gives that designation to schools with high levels of achievement or improvement.
Superintendent Adrienne Battle recognized two schools Monday that came “an especially long way to reach this mountaintop.”
Educating the ‘whole scholar’
Warner Arts Magnet Elementary was previously struggling to enroll. You may remember that name from WPLN’s podcast The Promise. The school went from the bottom 5% of schools in Tennessee to getting recognized as one of the top schools for its student growth and rising achievement.
Principal Ricki Gibbs said he feels proud of what his school has been able to accomplish. He credits multiple strategies for the school’s turn-around. It implemented wrap-around services for students and built deeper relationships with their families.
“It was about educating the whole scholar,” Gibbs said. “Yes, we’re going to ensure that you get the academic outcomes when you’re at school, but let’s also talk about how the community can support us. Let’s talk about how we can support you and your parents at home.”
Gibbs said his staff excelled at connecting with students, and thanked district leaders for supporting the school’s improvement. You can hear an in-depth conversation with Gibbs and Warner Elementary parents on Monday’s episode of This Is Nashville.
Keeping students in the classroom
Amqui Elementary in Madison also drastically improved its performance to reach reward school status. Principal LaToya Cobb said, previously, students were getting in trouble, which caused them to miss out on class time.
“So we knew that the key was for our teachers and staff to know and understand the students that they serve. As a result, they were able to strengthen their relationships, and so students were in class learning.”
Thanks to that change, kids are more excited to come to school now, Cobb said.
Increasing teacher diversity
Cobb also said she has been recruiting more diverse teachers. Her student population is predominantly Latino and Black.
“I know that if students can learn from someone that they can connect with, then that will just help them to grow at high levels.”
Cobb said she has tripled the number of Spanish-speaking staff at her school from two to six, to help better connect with families who don’t know much English.
Tennessee is working to increase its number of educators of color, and researchers at Vanderbilt University recently received federal grant money to study strategies. You can hear more about teacher diversity in Tennessee here.
Other reward schools
Overall, 48 schools in MNPS earned the reward school status. The district runs 34 of them itself, and the rest are charter-operated.
Monday’s announcement revealed fewer MNPS schools are in the state’s low-performing category. Tennessee designated 18 district-run schools and one charter as priority schools, compared to 24 the last time the labels were assigned. The district says it will support employees and students at those schools to improve their performance.
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