2019 Nashville chamber report card asks the city: How can the community support its schools?

How can Nashville create a citywide commitment to bettering public education?

It is a question central to this year's Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce Report Card, released Tuesday morning, which annually lays out the business community's perspective on topics that could help improve Metro Nashville Public Schools.

With the city again in a place of change — a new mayor, an interim superintendent and an upcoming school board election — the chamber report card committee's leaders said they chose to focus on the whole city's role in education. 

"The luxury of living in a great city is that you should have a great education system," said Erika Borg, a report card co-chair and Civic Allies Consulting founder.

And fellow co-chair and knowledgeBANK founder Courtney Hale said as part of the report card committee's tour of schools, members saw many great public schools that face numerous daily challenges.

Some schools experienced strong support. Others needed more.

The city as a whole must work to change perspectives, Borg said. And the community can take a larger role to fill in gaps of support, Hale said.

"We believe some of the negative perceptions of our schools is misdirected," he said. "There is a message around public education and that message is it is terrible.

"There are things the district needs to improve on ... absolutely. But there is perception. And there is the reality."

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A broader sweep

With an eye toward the city, the chamber's report card committee released three recommendations.

The recommendations are:

• The Mayor’s Office should gather city leaders to craft a 2030 vision and align a plan for a whole city approach to public education informed by the needs of the school system and that addresses gaps in support. "We must elect and hold accountable city and district leaders who make education the top priority."
• Nashville public schools should provide the community with an aspirational funding amount that reflects what a high-quality education costs in order to guide budgetary conversations and encourage more private-public partnerships. "We must determine what it means to sufficiently fund our public school and find a mechanism to get us there."
• The district should prioritize the reinstatement of a district leader to oversee equity work that was developed prior to the dissolution of the Office of Equity and Diversity. "We must advocate and provide for equitable community investment across the school district."

In a statement, interim Director of Schools Adrienne Battle said the district appreciates the time and effort the report card committee's volunteers put into learning about the district.

"We’ll gladly participate in any conversations led by Mayor Cooper and others on how we can plan for the future success of our public schools and the students we serve," Battle said.

She also said she agrees with the need for a budget conversation that is centered on what Nashville schools need in order to ensure better outcomes, not just on how much the city is comfortable giving to schools in any given budget year. 

And she said equity is a top priority for her administration and that the district is working to develop the future direction around equity work. 

Can the chamber create a citywide rallying call?

For the chamber to rally the entire city, it will have to maneuver around past criticisms.

That includes from school board members and some community leaders who have seen past recommendations as heavy-handed against the board or a call for more charter schools. 

Borg said she understands the business community can be a disruptive force. But the goal is to be a partner in improvements.

Indeed, the business community and chamber have helped to build Nashville public schools Academies, which provide students with career preparation in high school.

And last year's report focused more broadly on the social and emotional support for students. The conversation this year is meant to expand on what is needed for kids, Borg said.

The business community has a role to play and can the goal is to ensure more voices feel included, said Samantha Perez, the chamber's vice president of education initiatives.

"We hope that this is a sign of things to come," Perez said.

Commendations and concerns

The annual Nashville Area Chamber Report Card also includes a list of positives and challenges in the district.

The six commendations:

• The committee applauded the district for having a dedicated Metro Nashville Public Schools staff that works to ensure students learn and are cared for despite big challenges.
• It also pointed to the district's work to improve student learning, saying the district has shown academic growth above the national average
• While the report pushes for more community involvement, it also acknowledges the many business, community and nonprofit partnerships already in schools.
• It gave praise to the many strong principal leaders who are fostering partnerships with community and business leaders.
• The report commended the district for taking on a widespread social and emotional learning practices.
• And the committee is optimistic of the support Mayor John Cooper has pledged during his campaign to dedicate half of all new revenue to the city's schools.

And the six concerns:

• The committee called for more cooperation and collaboration between school and city leadership, especially to tackle issues such as transportation, mental health and housing.
• The committee felt many in the city didn't understand what it meant to "fully fund" Nashville public schools. The committee said "without a consistent definition, the term is open to interpretation."
• The report pointed to different realities at schools in more challenged neighborhoods and called for a spotlight on how to address the equity needs of schools.
• The chamber report called for better compensation of teachers overall. 
• The report expressed concerns over graduation rates and the number of students that aren't college- or career-ready.
• And the report said it has been difficult to sustain positive momentum and a new director should team with the entire city to determine priorities to sustain long-term, systemic change. 

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Reach Jason Gonzales at jagonzales@tennessean.com and on Twitter @ByJasonGonzales.