001director of facilities, maintenance, and construction. Surprise. Would you all please stand? I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. You're welcome. >> [laughter] >> You never know who's going to be next. All right. May I have a motion to approve the agenda? So moved. Okay, there's a motion for the agenda. Is there a second? >> Second. Um there's been a second. All in favor say I. I. Anyone opposed? All right, the agenda passes. Uh now I'll hand over to director of schools for awards and recognitions. All right, thank you so much, Chair Player, and good evening, board members. Um tonight I'm excited to recognize some outstanding middle school wrestlers. Um
002first up, I'd like to recognize Shanayla Moore, an eighth grader at East Magnet Middle School. Shanayla, Shanayla, if you're here, can you come up to the podium? There she is. Let's give her a round of applause as she comes. Shanayla, if you can come and stand up front for us, um as I brag on you for a little bit. Shanayla is the new class 2A state champion in the girls 225-lb weight class. Now, check this out. Shanayla is actually the first ever middle school heavyweight class state champion, boy or girl, from Nashville Public Schools. Her season was even more impressive when you consider that she was a first-year wrestler, and she won 16 of her 18 matches, showing great tenacity, hard work, skill, and determination on her way to the state title. >> Yes, ma'am.
003>> Shanayla, congratulations to you and your coaches, your family, your friends, your teammates on your state championship. We'd love to just stand and congratulate you and take a picture with you. All right, so if we can have um coaches and a family um that's here, board member, we'd love to get a quick photo um as we continue to celebrate. Congratulations, sweetheart. Yes. Job well done. That's what it is hard. I know, yeah, I'm a wrestling mom, I know. It will the tournament is at the end of the year. I mean, I think she got all of that. That's right. >> [clears throat] >> And this is her first year in middle school. Isn't that something? She's going to be phenomenal. Oh, yeah. She's going places. 1 2 3 I love that. That's sweet. Oh, that's
004why you are I just want to tell you Michelle Don't be a hater now. That's not cute. That's not cute. Yes, you know, I'm all all about it. I know it, and I was like, okay. So again, congratulations to Shanayla. We also have middle school a middle school wrestling team that went to the state championship, and that is DuPont Hadley Middle School boys team. [crying] Will you all come on up so I can brag on you as you are celebrated. Nobody wants to be the first one to come up. >> [laughter] >> That's right. >> shy. Come on >> No, they said the adults are coming. We're waiting for them. All right, so DuPont Hadley Middle School boys team finishes runners-up in the team competition after an exciting season in which they had just one
005regular season loss, going six and one in their division. So again, let's give it up for the state runners-up. And while we're here, we'd also like to congratulate Coach Quinton Watkins, who was selected as the Eastern Division Coach of the Year. Congratulations again to the entire DuPont Hadley boys team, Coach Watkins, the entire DuPont Hadley community, everyone involved with the team for an outstanding season. Um so we just want to make sure we have everyone um here for the picture. If there's coaches or um other staff, principals who are here, please come on up. Board member, please join them up front so we can get a great picture. >> [laughter] >> Oh. My name is Shanayla Moore. Oh, will they get them in front of me? Probably not if you say so. I did say
006so. It's a good 28 lbs. Y'all got them all in something. Yes. That's what I wanted. So she was on the move now a lot of people here. Yeah, a lot of people I talked to. Yeah, it was just something she said I just want to be right, so she'll be here. Thank you. It's not. No, typically I copy that in I don't know what's in here. I sent it to me personally for you. Mhm. And then a little baby back cuz she's my baby. All right, congratulations again um to DuPont Hadley boys on the wrestling uh accomplishment. Again, congratulations to Coach Watkins, uh Principal Armstrong, the entire team um at DuPont Hadley. Um Chair Player, that will conclude our awards and recognitions, which were incredible, but I'll turn it back over to you now.
007Thank you. And to the students, if you have to leave, it's okay, cuz I know it's it's literally a school night. Um so feel free to leave anytime that you need to. So thank you, and congratulations. Um okay, we'll move on to director's report um where we're talking about AVID and International Baccalaureate and MNPS Reimagined update. I'll give everyone a moment, and we'll move to you. All right, thank you again, Chair Player, and board members. Tonight's director's report continues our focus on how we're building clear, intentional pathways that prepare every student in Nashville Public Schools for success beyond graduation. We'll begin with an update on early postsecondary opportunities. As the state's definition of college and career readiness continues to evolve, these opportunities play an increasingly important role in ensuring our students graduate with real momentum,
008whether that means college credit, industry credentials, or meaningful exposure to postsecondary expectations. Chief Sarah Chen will walk us through how this work is expanding across the district and what it means for students and families. Following that update, we will turn our attention to the Antioch cluster for their journey map presentation, highlighting how a coordinated pre-K through 12 approach, anchored in strong academics, advanced coursework, and intentional supports is creating consistent experiences and outcomes for students across their entire cluster. You'll see how early postsecondary access, um their IB programming, and AVID strategies come together to form a coherent road map from elementary school through high school graduation. Together, these presentations reflect our continued commitment to ensuring every student is known, supported, and prepared for what comes next. With that, I'll invite Chief Sarah Chen to begin the
009postsecondary update. Good evening, board. Good evening, Dr. Battle. I'm so excited to be with you all again, sharing a little bit about early postsecondary opportunities, and in particular, their impact on the Antioch cluster. So this slide is probably looking pretty familiar to all of you by now. Um as you all know, college and career readiness status in Tennessee um is conferred on students who have achieved a particular level of academic excellence, which indicates not only that they're prepared to graduate from high school, but that they have demonstrated their readiness for college and career success. Uh so there are four key ways in Tennessee that a student can demonstrate that CCR indicator. An ACT I'm going to start making you all recite these with me at some point. Um an ACT composite of 21, a passing
010score on the ASVAB, which is the military entrance exam, successfully earning credit on at least one early postsecondary opportunity, which is an EPso, and or, excuse me, uh completing a tier three industry credential or a tier two and one other credential. Those are the four ways that a student can demonstrate that they have achieved that CCR status. So, which of these courses can you take in the Antioch cluster? You can take five of these EPso experiences in our Antioch cluster schools. AP courses, dual enrollment, IB, local dual credit, and industry credentials. We're going to talk a little bit about um both IB status and AVID this evening, but really talking about some of the really exciting uh dual enrollment opportunities that are available in the Antioch cluster. So, first of all, Antioch is one of
011three MNPS clusters that offers International Baccalaureate or IB programming and one of four high schools in the district that offer this specialized experience. We've already done a longer presentation on IB, so I'm not going to try repeat myself too much on these topics. Um but why we have the IB program? First of all, IB is a K-12 program where students get early exposure that prepares them through elementary, through middle school, and then for high school uh for that rigorous high school experience that will prepare them for college and career success. Um so, students begin those real world world inquiry-based tasks early on in their career that prepares them for that more rigorous coursework when they get to high school. Um second, at uh but by combining our IB approach with our AVID uh approach that
012is deeply embedded in Antioch, these strategies together make sure that our students are prepared for really those real world learning experiences that our kids need to be successful in college and career. Um I think especially when we think about the reality of AI and how that is going to to put pressure on students to be able to demonstrate these more human skills, um IB and AVID together are really about collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity, uh which improves our our students' readiness for postsecondary um and their employment prospects. Um and last of all, through this IB program uh in the Antioch cluster, we cultivate our students in alignment with the IB learner profile. Um so, you see that graphic that's provided there on the right, and that's where you really see what are those characteristics of
013students who embody that IB excellence. Um they're risk-takers, they're communicators, they're reflective on their practice, they're open-minded. All of those skills that we know our students need um that aren't just demonstrating mastery in a particular content area, but growing in the kinds of academic excellence that prepare them for postsecondary readiness. Um and also AVID, which I touched it on a little bit on the previous uh slide, AVID is core to the Antioch cluster's advanced academic strategy. So, Antioch is one of our clusters where every single school in the cluster is an AVID school. I mean, as a quick reminder on what AVID is, AVID is a system or or a framework, you could say, of organizing all aspects of life in a school through instruction, systems, uh leadership, and culture, orienting all of that around
014uh making sure that those systems are working together to set our students up for postsecondary success. And again, this system is in place at all of the schools in the Antioch high school uh Antioch cluster. Antioch High School in particular has been an AVID school for many years. Um and this is a model that has a strong evidence base behind it. Uh through our research practice partnership with PEER, uh we have done research in our own district that validates what we see nationally, which is that students who participate in these AVID experiences are more likely to take and uh complete EPso's than similarly situated peers. And if you control, and this is true both in our district and demonstrated consistently in the national research, even controlling for prior academic achievement, students who participate in AVID
015are more likely to enroll in college. So, this is an incredible opportunity and set of preparation experiences we give our students in every school in the Antioch cluster. Uh but tonight I want to talk a little bit about um Antioch in their partnership with NEON, which uh is the National Education Opportunity Network partnership, and you can see their logo there on the bottom left. So, NEON is a partnership that MNPS does to promote further dual enrollment opportunities for our students. Uh much of what the dual enrollment that we offer in the district is focused on local providers, so our partnership with Nashville State, with TCAT. And what NEON does is allows us to expand beyond local partners um and allow our students to take four dual enrollment credit uh courses in highly selective colleges and
016universities around the country. Um and NEON is a nonprofit that we partnership uh we partner with in order to deliver this. So, Antioch is critical because they are actually one of the three high schools where we piloted this program back in 2023 when we first started this work um and uh along with Maplewood and Stratford, uh where our students were then able to take courses at these highly selective colleges and universities without even leaving their high school uh campuses and getting exposure to that degree of rigor um in those partner universities. Um and like all dual enrollment programming that we offer at MNPS, this partnership means that our students get credit both for their high school courses as well as at that partner institution in which they are dually enrolled, which counts towards their EPso
017status. So, why is this NEON partnership uh such an exceptional opportunity and it's just so critical to uh much of the work that we're continuing to build out in the district in general and at Antioch in particular? Um first of all, no cost to students. Like with all EPso's in MNPS, we commit to not to no cost being passed on to our students, period. So, our students can stay in their campuses and take classes at Howard, Spelman, Stanford, Harvard, you name it, they do not pay for any of that. Um second of all, it expands our students' access to highly selective colleges. Um through this NEON partnership, our students um in particular students who are first-generation uh college-goers or are underrepresented in other ways get access to highly selective colleges and universities through meaningful exposure
018by literally taking classes at those colleges um and participating in early advising and sustained mentorship that prepares them to be competitive applicants to highly selective colleges. Um Third of all, uh we know that this program builds our students' readiness and persistence. Um it builds our students' academic confidence to be able to say that they've taken classes at Stanford, at Harvard, at Howard. Um and that it creates that college knowledge and sense of belonging where our students can see themselves at these highly selective colleges and universities. And last of all, we know this is an evidence-based pathway. Um a running theme in this is talking about some of the great evidence we have behind this work, but this brings a data-driven model to our schools that just continues to accelerate our existing college and career readiness
019strategy um and build out this ecosystem of programming that we offer at MNPS that ensure our students are supported to be ready for college and beyond. And uh I just think this is such a fun uh story that you might have seen in the news. Uh Stanford University's own paper uh for their the which is the Stanford Report celebrated St Antioch High School. Uh this is an article from um a little more a little less than a year ago now, actually, um celebrating our Antioch High School students right here in Nashville um who made headlines for taking through Stanford credit-bearing courses in computer science, uh which you uh is a thing that Stanford is known for, in fact. Um so, our students uh were able to take Stanford's uh level 100 introduction to computers, um
020and as you can see in the picture that's provided, uh made headlines at the Stanford Report for their participation in this work. Um which means that Antioch is positioned at the leading edge of expansion in this kind of dual enrollment opportunities that highly selective colleges and universities are offering. Um and it's just so exciting to know that through that NEON partnership, we are able to provide these highly exceptional opportunities for our students right here in MNPS. And with that, I'm going to turn it over to Dr. Renita Perry, who's going to introduce the principals of the Antioch cluster. Hello. Good evening. It is super exciting to be here, chair, board members. Tonight, you're going to hear from a group of amazing principals representing the Antioch cluster, schools that together form a coherent pre-K through 12
021journey for our students and families in Southeast Nashville. In alignment with MNPS Reimagined, the Antioch cluster is delivering a guaranteed, personalized, and applied student experience, ensuring that every student is known, supported, and challenged at every stage of learning. Across the cluster, IB and AVID are not standalone programs. They are integrated frameworks that shape instruction, student voice, and expectations from pre-K all the way through our high school. From the PYP and MYP program to the IB Diploma and career-based um related pathways, paired with the AVID strategies that build academic ownership and college readiness, students experience a consistent focus on inquiry, critical thinking, and access to rigorous learning. This intentional alignment supports students as they ignite curiosity, discover direction, and ultimately define their purpose. Our principals lead this work through strong instruction, meaningful relationships, and real world
022pathways. It is my honor to introduce our Antioch cluster principals as they share how MNPS Reimagined is coming to life for our students every day. Come on up, principals. Just sit right back and you hear a tale, a tale of the largest, most diverse cluster in Nashville and the entire state of Tennessee. Let's take a look into the schools of Antioch. We are an AVID and International Baccalaureate Cluster. In the Antioch Cluster, our schools are committed to rigorous academics, >> [music] >> inquiry-based learning, and college readiness strategies. Students learn to think critically, collaborate effectively, and connect their learning to real-world experiences, preparing them for success in college, career, and life. It all begins in elementary school with the Primary Years Program. Here, learning is inquiry-based. Our elementary students explore big ideas through hands-on experiences. They
023learn to ask questions, think critically, and connect their learning to the world around them. The focus is developing the whole child academically, socially, and emotionally. As students transition into middle school, the Middle Years Program builds on these foundations. It challenges our students to make connections across subjects and apply knowledge in real-world contexts. Through interdisciplinary projects and global [music] themes, our middle school students in the Antioch Cluster grow as independent thinkers and responsible citizens. In high school, the IB Program prepares students for college and beyond. It is rigorous, balanced, and internationally recognized. Students in the Antioch School engage in advanced coursework, research through extended essay, and community service via creativity, activity, and service. They graduate not only with academic excellence, but with the skills to thrive in a complex, interconnected world. From elementary to high school
024in the Antioch Cluster, IB empowers our students to become lifelong learners and global leaders. It's more than an education in the Antioch Cluster. It's a journey of discovery, growth, and impact. One community, one journey, all roads lead to AHS, where excellence meets [music] opportunity. We are >> the Antioch Cluster, where excellence meets opportunity. We are an I'm I am Carl Anthony Febles, principal executive principal at J. Moss Elementary School. Angela Davis, executive principal of Lakeview Elementary. I'm Dr. Britt Sykes, executive principal at Una Elementary. I'm Dr. Sonya P. Whitmore, executive principal at Thomas Edison Elementary. Hello, I'm Dr. Nia Perry, executive principal at Mount View Elementary. Hello, I'm Dr. Cherish Pace, the principal of Smith Springs Elementary, and I also have the pleasure of introducing Reed A. G., a first-grader at Smith Springs Elementary. Cynthia
025Adams, principal of Apollo Middle. Dr. Sonya Fields Williams, executive principal John F. Kennedy Middle. Nikisha Burnett, the executive principal at Antioch High School. I will also like to introduce you to Shermaze, a leader whose impact is seen at the community, city, and national level. As an AVID and IB Cluster, we are committed to empowering every student to lead and excel in a diverse, inclusive environment where innovation and exploration thrive. In fact, Antioch High School was the first and only AVID National Demonstration School under Dr. Battle's leadership in 2016. Today, AVID serves 8,081 students pre-K through 12th grade, and in the Antioch Cluster, and 316 students in middle and high school are in the AVID elective class in the Antioch Cluster. Join us on our journey as we strive to lead the city in education and
026community engagement. So, now we are very excited to share with you our road map, where we grow our students from curious learners to global scholars. In elementary tiers, we ignite the wonder. In middle school, we discover our direction, and finally in high school, we define our destiny. Come meet us. In elementary, we ignite the wonder through hands-on learning, engaging discussions, and experiences that spark curiosity. Students explore science, music, art, and healthy living through inquiry and collaboration. Our guaranteed experiences, such as AVID, STEM, computer science, and visual and performing arts celebrate our diverse community. With strong community partnerships, we further enrich students through integrated SEL supports. Our middle school program sparks curiosity through college visits, hands-on learning such as dissecting in science and robotics in STEM and AVID, and real-world experiences. Using AVID strategies and advanced
027academics, students think critically, ask deep questions, and take ownership of learning. Interdisciplinary projects build collaboration, creativity, and confidence, while rigorous academics and project-based learning help students explore their identities and develop purposeful leaders, the hallmark of two Level 5 schools. At Antioch High School, students benefit from a wide range of academics and >> [clears throat] >> and career-focused opportunities designed to prepare them for college, careers, and global citizenship. They may choose to participate in the prestigious internationally baccalaureate program with the options of choosing either the diploma program or the career-related program. At Antioch At Antioch High School, we also proudly offer AVID, a college and career readiness system that equips students with the skills, strategies, and supports needed to succeed in rigorous coursework and post-secondary education. In addition to AVID and the International Baccalaureate Program, students
028can study four languages: Arabic, French, Japanese, and Spanish, expanding their global awareness and communication skills. As part of the Antioch Cluster, our schools collectively celebrate a rich tapestry of cultural diversity with more than 40 different languages spoken across our community. Come and experience the difference and join us on this exciting journey of growth, discovery, and excellence. And now, you're going to have the opportunity to hear from Reed, a first-grader at Smith Springs Elementary, who is just starting his journey in the Antioch Cluster. He's going to explain to you how he is using his head, his hands, his heart, and his feet to travel his personalized journey. Hi, I am Reed A. G. I am proud to be a part of an AVID and IB Cluster. Right now, I am in elementary student, but I am
029already thinking about my future at Antioch High School as an IB student. AVID means I'm moving up through my own hard work. In the Antioch Cluster, we learn to ask questions, think deeply, deeply, and work together. Every day, I practice being organized, setting goals, and challenging myself because AVID helps me get ready for college and career. IB helps me see the world in new ways. I have learned being an IB student means being curious, confident, and caring about others. Smith Springs is in its first year in AVID, just like J. E. Moss Unit and Lakeview. When I grow up, I want to be a spaceman, go to Auburn University. Go, War Eagles. Hey, thank you. On behalf of all of the Antioch Cluster principals, as well as Mr. Reed here, we thank you for traveling
030this journey with us tonight, and remember, Antioch is where excellence meets opportunity. Good job, Reed. Wow, Reed. You did amazing. As you've heard tonight, the Antioch cluster is not just a collection of schools. It's a connected system delivering on the promise of MNPS reimagined. Through intentional IB and Avid integration, strong leadership, and a deep commitment to every student known, our principals are ensuring students experience rigorous instruction, meaningful relationships, and clear pathways from pre-kindergarten through graduation. Thank you to our principals. Thank you, Reed. And thank you to also Dr. Damaris Luna, who is our executive director, who's leading this cluster. This is what it looks like when vision becomes practice, and when schools move together on behalf of students. With that, I am pleased to turn it back over to you, Dr. Battle. Um, are there
031any questions or comments? I know you HAVE A COMMENT. >> [laughter] >> WE WILL HAVE YES, the biggest cheerleader of them all, member Maze. We'll have member O'Herron Block go first. And we'll finish with member Maze. That was awesome. Thank you all very much. And um, our friend Reed was very impressive. Um, actually, I my question could potentially be for Dr. Chen. It also might be for one of y'all, but for one of the things I've heard students talking about uh for IB, as well as some of the other um dual enrollment and some of these things is how they know which colleges when they go to like apply to college, when they go to think about where they might go, how they know which colleges might accept which kinds of credit, um and how
032to be thinking about that in a next step sense. Thank you for that question on that. That is something that we've actually been starting to work out with our counseling team on making sure that our counselors, through the professional development opportunities that we're giving our counselors, are building that content knowledge for them so they can answer those those uh questions for students. Because the reality is it's there's not going to be you One of the things that we are up against in this is there's so much individuality that's necessary in answering a lot of these questions, right? Because specific opportunities for dual enrollment may, even at the same institution, may translate differently to the same institution. So, it's something that we've been working with is just making sure that we're providing strong professional development for
033counselors to understand how much nuance there actually is in this space. Um and as well, in our department, we're trying to start now, especially as we're building out more and more diversity of these opportunities, just build strong centralized guidance that helps people understand the advantages and disadvantages of each of these in terms of transferability. Because there's not just a clean answer. It's It's never going to be like this one episode transfers better than any of these other ones, because there's so much individuality even between the episode provider and the university. Therefore, the most important thing is provide a significant breadth of options and make sure we're doing that quality individual level counseling. I I'm Sorry, two follow-up questions. One is for students who are who are doing um pathways that do have more of an
034industry certification. I may have asked this question before, but like how how are those students getting advice on where to go? If we have college counselors, and I'm assuming that our young friend learned about Auburn from his Avid coach at school, and not from a a parent or community member, but that that's where he learned he was going to be a spaceman was from the Avid teacher. Um, but uh but just like if you're in that if you're in a different pathway, we don't necessarily do we have what we kind of call career coaches? Is that what graduation coaches do? How are we thinking about that? Yeah, so we have a role at MNPS called the college and career readiness coach that's that our schools often will invest in to support that work, um as
035well as through their counseling team. Um, and this is also an area where we are continuing to uh I mean, we I don't want to get ahead of us, but we're building out a chatbot right now that to help counselors understand and think through those tradeoffs, because there's so much knowledge that is so individualized for the specific student experience and what they want to do and therefore what opportunities they need. Um, we would never actually do enough individual PD to get there. So, we're really working on our team of how can we be innovative enough to create that strong guidance that we can then push to schools, to those staff that we do invest in in schools, so that they're then able to turn around deliver that type of individualized knowledge to each of our
036students, because that's what that's the level of customization that's necessary to support our kids. And And I'll take us back to the foundation, particularly around the Academies of Nashville. Um, part of the thinking there when you think about all the Rs around relationships, readiness, um rigor, um and relationships, if I haven't said that one, um is that it was exposure around opportunity for students given their aspirations, um their aptitude, and their talents. Um, and so, from the very beginning, um the inception of the Academies was to be able to create those road maps so that students could explore um the various um career opportunities. But in addition to the requirement of having the career um opportunity is to have a connection to a college and university. Um, and those colleges and universities help advise um
037us around industry credentials, um dual enrollment, um dual credit. We also have a part of those steering committees um industry professionals. And so, the the the concept here is that all those leaders around the table helping advise us one on programming, um and our counselors and our teachers and principals are part of those conversations to continue to help build our capacity around what the multitude of opportunities are um for our students. And as Chief Chen is articulating, part of that is in standing up structures that can guarantee that that level um of engagement and knowledge is exist existent across all of our schools. Uh member Elrod. Thank you. Uh to build on the question and answer that we just received, the college and readiness coach, what grade bands do we have those Are those in
038all of our schools or is it only in certain grade bands? It's a role that schools can use their student-based budgeting funds for and then and then determine their strategy on how to use that alongside their counseling team. >> Okay, but it's available if they have it in their SBB for all of them. Okay. Got it. And then I'm glad to hear about the chatbot. I know that was something that you were kind of discussing a little bit um in our Spanish um leaders community meeting. I'm sorry if I got that name wrong. Um, but that meeting, Hispanic uh community meeting that we had. And I think that's a really good idea, cuz to your point, there's so many opportunities, as we just learned, particularly just with this one cluster, it's incredibly difficult to not
039just for our own counselors, but also individual teachers to know what college and career readiness is available. And then on top of that, what kind of opportunities they have. So, I'm glad to hear that that's in the works. If nothing else, it hopefully takes some of the load off of our employees so that they can do the other multitude of work that they have to do. Uh lastly, of course, I have to speak to Reed. Reed looks like one of my own children, and so [laughter] Reed, you look just like one of my children. And um also as a first grade teacher, so I am your number one fan. I also need to make sure that I say that the Quack Pack is excellent. I don't know who came up with that shirt and that
040theme, but good work. Uh Reed, seriously, you did a very good job. You reading that speech, I mean, Reed, you can read. It was super impressive, man. Some big words in there. You did a good job. So, I hope you're really proud of yourself. You are a good example of the excellence that you'll have in your cluster. You really did a solid for everyone. I'm super proud of you, man. And uh thank y'all for all being here. Also, I think you're the first cluster to start off with a song, so good job. >> [laughter] >> Um, I have a quick question before we end with uh member Maze. Um, being a full Avid cluster, what's the biggest advantage of having Avid from elementary to high school? And then what would be your magic wand that,
041you know, if you can improve anything with it, um you know, you had, you know, $20 million and anything you want, what else would you do to with Avid to improve it long term? Yeah, I'll just answer it as a first year Avid school first year Avid elementary school. I think in terms of what we would improve, it would be we just want to do all the things all at one time, just like anything else. And you And you can't do that, right? Um, so, with the Avid um strategies, WICOR, which are the Wicker stan- strategies, um each school who is in their first year starts with one of those strategies typically. So, like we started with um organization. Um, cuz that's not something that's normally directly taught in elementary school. Um, we teach writing,
042we teach inquiry, we teach collaboration, we teach reading, but we don't focus as much on organization in elementary school. So, we've really tried to focus on that this year, so I would say it's just um not being able to do everything that you want to do at one time. Just like anything else. And then um the benefit to it, um being in elementary school all the way up to high school, is just that consistency piece. You know, when our elementary school kids go to JFK, our zone school, um they're going to have the same experiences in Avid that they had in elementary school. Like Avid, he's a first grader and he knows what Avid is. By the time he gets to sixth grade and seventh grade and eighth grade, like Avid is going to be
043like a way of life for him and then on into high school. So, it's just that consistency piece. Thank you. Um I think I was going to kind of touch upon your question about if we had $20 extra. >> [laughter] >> Um so, I would say at least for probably most of us is the training for it. So, of course, you probably know that we do go to Tampa for the summer Avid training and so that is an opportunity for our schools to send people to be fully Avid trained and the cost is a lot. Um so, it's about $3,500 like per person and so you typically are using like your own school based budgeting funds to do that. So, we had a plethora of funds, you know, just to be able to send more
044people to the training. But the district does do a good job as far as offering training throughout the year. So, sometimes they will offer training for principals to send educators for free training for 2 days throughout the year. So, a lot of us do at least I did, you know, did take advantage of sending educators to the training gifts well. So, just the training aspect. Thank you. Um Vice Chair Nabors-Nickens? I don't have any questions. I just want to I just want to recognize Reed and all the and and your presentation Reed, good job. I need you to give you a big pat on the back for being a good job. Yes. And also to congratulate you all on the work that you're doing over in the Antioch close cluster. I know that that Antioch
045is near and dear to Dr. Battle being a former leader there, but I also started my high school teaching career over at Antioch High School as well and was part of the Avid program during that time. Well, no, not at Antioch, but part of the Avid program as I moved to another school. So, but we're going to continue to highlight the great work that's happening in Antioch and thank you all so much for all you do every day for students. Thank you. Um Member Mayes? Thank you so much. To say I'm proud would be a huge understatement. I am so proud of y'all. Let me tell you something. The Antioch cluster The Antioch cluster never disappoints. Y'all are amazing. >> [laughter] >> That's right. That's right. See now >> [laughter] >> And this is look,
046whenever I walk into an Antioch cluster school, I always know that there's going to be a learning opportunity for every single student, every single parent, every single visitor. And I would say to my colleagues, I encourage you to visit the Antioch cluster schools. You will be pleasantly delighted. You will not ever leave one of those schools without learning something new and experiencing something new. I I can't tell y'all how proud I am of y'all. So, Antioch where Antioch cluster where? Say with me. And just like that, thank you all so much for being here. I appreciate you more than you know. Thank you to the best cluster in Metro Nashville public schools. Thank you. Um And Mr. Mr. Reed and his father, if you want to leave and take him home so he can have
047supper, you're more than welcome to do that. You don't have to feel like you have to stay here. And same to the teachers and principals. You guys have school tomorrow. And you're blessed with the awesome son, Dad. >> [laughter] >> Um all right. >> [laughter] >> All right, we will move on to public participation. There is no one participating in public participation. So, we will now move on to governance issues. May I have a motion for the cassette agenda? There's been moved by Member Young and seconded by plethora of people. Um pick one for the second. All in favor say I. Any opposed? All right. Thank you everyone. I would just like to say we had our Teacher of the Year and District of the District Principal of the Year banquet last last night at
048the Music City Center. So, congratulations to all the teachers of the year on the suit on the school level and on the district level. Really appreciate it. Thank you to Chief Spencer and her um and her department for putting on an excellent event. It gets better each and every year and smoother and smoother. I don't know how to get more smoother other than I'm curling surface, but but yeah Olympics. Yes. But no, you did a great job and you did awesome and I would like to say that a Glencliff cluster teacher won it in the second year in a row. Thank you very much. Won it last year and this year. So, go Glencliff cluster. We all do. Yes, we all we all we all have wonderful beautiful teachers and that's why it's awesome to
049work at Metro public schools because you're with the best of the best of the best. Vice Chair Nabors-Nickens? Yeah, I just want to The month of Ramadan for those who are not aware starts either Tuesday or Wednesday of next week depending on the sighting of the moon. So, students across our cluster as well as teachers and staff who participate in the month of Ramadan will be fasting during the day throughout that entire period. So, I just want to uplift them during this time. The fasting period is from 29 to 30 days. Yes, they get to eat in the morning and eat in the evening. They don't have to fast for that consecutively, but the fasting is every day over the course of 29 to 30 days. So, in the light of that, I want to
050wish all of our families who are participating as well as our staff across the district Ramadan Mubarak or happy Ramadan. Thank you so much. All right. Seeing no further business, this meeting is adjourned. This has been a service of the Metro Nashville Network. If you would like to see this presentation [music] again or for more information on this and other programs, visit nashville.gov.