Metro Nashville Public Schools leaders are hosting four public meetings in June to gather input on MNPS Next: Delivering Great Schools.
The meetings are open to the public, although parents, students, staff and school community partners are especially encouraged to attend. There will be free food and childcare for children ages 4-12 at each meeting. Attendees will also have the chance to take home free books and passes to the Frist Center for the Visual Arts and the Country Music Hall of Fame as well as Hatch Show Prints.
MNPS Next is a district-wide effort that aims to improve access, equity and efficiency in the district’s academic programming and use of facilities. MNPS Next is designed to support the improvement of student outcomes, increase resources and fiscal efficiencies, and increase MNPS’ market share and desirability among potential families.
Background
District leaders, in conjunction with MGT Consulting Group, are leading MNPS Next. MGT has a 15-year history of working with the district and helped create the district’s current 10-year Facility Master Plan. The MGT project team is composed of educators and seasoned facility experts.
MNPS Next began with a rigorous facility analysis, which was completed in May. MGT examined the educational suitability, condition, quality and technology readiness of every school in the district. The findings will be evaluated in concert with related programmatic data, as well as the findings and recommendations of the Transition Team, community and staff Listen & Learn sessions held in 2016, and the Strategic Framework.
As a result of this process, MNPS and MGT have created initial themes for discussion with meeting attendees. As an example, MNPS Next will explore the feasibility of reconfiguring the elementary grades, in addition to other options.
“Last summer, my team and I held Listen & Learn sessions across the county to hear about our community’s hopes and dreams for our school district,” said Dr. Shawn Joseph, director of schools. “The community’s feedback informed the development of the Strategic Framework. With that now in place, it’s time to partner, once again, with our staff, families, students and community members to make recommendations to the Board of Education to turn our collective hopes and dreams into a reality.”
Meeting format
Each meeting will have two main components. First, attendees will gather for a large-group session where MGT and MNPS officials will explain MNPS Next. Attendees will also provide real-time feedback to survey questions using a clicker system to provide quantitative data. Then, attendees will break out into small focus groups where a trained facilitator will lead the group in a guided discussion about the questions they responded to in the large-group session.
The data collected from these meetings will inform the writing of draft recommendations to the Board of Education to improve academic programs and facility use.
“MNPS and MGT have collected a lot of data about improvements that could be made to our school system,” Dr. Joseph said. “Now, we need the voice of our entire school community at the table to make sure we are taking the right next steps to make MNPS a school district where students exceed great expectations.”
MNPS Next Community Meeting Schedule
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Thursday, June 15 Creswell Middle Prep School of the Arts 5:30 | Dinner 6 – 7:30 p.m. | Program |
Saturday, June 17 Cane Ridge High School 10 a.m. | Breakfast 10:30 a.m. – 12 p.m. | Program |
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Thursday, June 22 Hillsboro High School 5:30 p.m. | Dinner 6 – 7:30 p.m. | Program |
Saturday, June 24 Stratford STEM Magnet School 10 a.m. | Breakfast 10:30 a.m. – 12 p.m. | Program |
Meeting Transportation Schedule
MNPS is providing free school bus transportation to take attendees to and from the MNPS Next meetings. Children must be accompanied by an adult. Below is the transportation schedule:
· June 15 Meeting Pick-Up Locations: Amqui Elementary School, Buena Vista Elementary School , McKissack Middle Prep, Cumberland View Public Housing (25th Ave.) and Haynes Garden Apartments (main entrance). All buses will arrive at their stops at 5 p.m. and drop off attendees around 8 p.m.
· June 17 Meeting Pick-Up Locations: Cole Elementary, Glencliff Elementary, Glenview Elementary, JE Moss Elementary, and Paragon Mills Elementary. All buses will arrive at their stops at 9:30 a.m. and drop off attendees around 12:30 p.m. Children must be accompanied by an adult.
· June 22 Meeting Pick-Up Locations: Buena Vista Elementary, Carter Lawrence Elementary, Charlotte Park Elementary, Tusculum Elementary and Haywood Elementary. All buses will arrive at their stops at 5 p.m. and drop off attendees around 8 p.m.
· June 24 Meeting Pick-Up Locations: Avalon Apartments (main entrance), Caldwell Elementary, Inglewood Elementary, Napier Elementary and Warner Elementary. All buses will arrive at their stops at 5 p.m. and drop off attendees around 8 p.m.