Vision: All students will belong to a personalized, smaller learning community engaged around interests where relationships are valued. Instruction will be project-based, applied and integrated. Meaningful business engagement will be evident and post-secondary institutions will be heavily engaged. Metro Nashville Public High Schools will be world-class schools that graduate college and career-ready students in partnership with the community. MNPS will be a district that emerges as a trend-setter in innovative practices where ALL students have the highest level of education, as well as exposure to post-secondary education, career opportunities and real-life experiences.
According to the website for the State of Tennessee’s Diploma Project, in 2002 only 59 of every 100 ninth-grade Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) students graduated on time. Of those students, 36 entered community college or a university and 25 were still enrolled by their sophomore year of college. Only 15 of the 100 graduated a college or university within one-and-a-half times the length of their degree program.
Many problems surfaced during that time in the Metro school District. Like so many other instances, but especially during the recession, Funding to support Metro Public schools suffered. In addition, during that same period of time, there was an influx of refugee families and students entering the public schools that the schools were ill prepared to support. Magnet and Charter schools were introduced which unintentionally widened the economic and demographic gap that already existed among students enrolled in public schools. Most glaringly, the low attendance numbers, increased dropout and low graduation rates needed to be addressed.
The Academies of Nashville were formed in 2006 when the school district partnered with Nashville's civic and business leaders to redesign zoned high schools. The vision for the redesign was establishing smaller learning communities with a goal of improving the annual dropout rate and student attendance. A goal was also set to have 90% of students graduate on time while also becoming college and career ready.
Schools were selected based on the needs and wages for each specific area. Businesses partnered with the Academies based on the career subject. Those businesses sign up through the PENCIL Foundation. The National Standards of Practice were chosen as the accreditation model. Business and community involvement is critical to success of the Academies, as they donate time and resources.
Story behind the Academies of Nashville
