It has been a great honor to spend the past five months touring vibrant schools, interviewing passionate educators, and talking with thoughtful young students. In addition to gaining a deep understanding of the successes, challenges, and collaborations surrounding K-12 postsecondary advising in Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS), we were welcomed into innovative schools across the city. We are immensely proud of the hard work and dedication from education professionals and students happening every day across the district. One specific example being MNPS’ level 5 value-added growth score in both the 2022 and 2023 Tennessee Value Added Assessment System.
The 2023 Education Report is focused on K-12 postsecondary advising, an important topic to this committee as we represent employers, higher education institutions, government, and partners in education across the city. One of Nashville’s many needs is ensuring its homegrown talent has exposure to careers, understanding the variety of pathways and the education needed to access those pathways. As a community, we are stronger, smarter, and better prepared to meet the needs of our customers, citizens, and stakeholders when we have local talent ready to meet our employment needs.
MNPS has done tremendous work to enhance and expand its offerings in postsecondary advising, a natural extension of the career pathways inherent in the Academies of Nashville. We are encouraged by their creative commitment to this work, and throughout our observations we have many opportunities to celebrate that success. The committee has identified several opportunities where MNPS can build upon this foundation to further this success, ensuring that all schools and all students have equal access to these valuable resources and mentorship programs.
It is our hope that with these recommendations, we will set the community, governing bodies, nonprofits, and employers on a path to commit and support this work under MNPS’ leadership. Additionally, we encourage every reader of this report to find a way to connect and engage with your local schools. You will find imaginative students and steadfast educators eager to engage with you – and you will leave inspired, as we have.
Nashville has seen tremendous growth in the past decade. From an economic development perspective, the region’s economy has expanded rapidly, bringing both Fortune-listed companies and brick-and-mortar businesses into our vibrant communities. This enhanced business presence, combined with Nashville’s quality of place and livability, has led to an influx in the number of people who have moved to the region. Despite this enormous growth, Nashville, like much of the United States, is currently facing a talent deficit.
