FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Natalie Laraque
917-553-1172
[email protected]
METRO NASHVILLE PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND TEACH FOR AMERICA
PARTNER TO INCREASE SUMMER LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES FOR
LOCAL STUDENTS
Program Will Address ‘Summer Learning Slide’ Among High-Need Students
NASHVILLE, Tenn., June 28 , 2016— Metro Nashville Public Schools and Teach For
America–Greater Nashville kicked off the third year of their summer learning program, sponsored by
Asurion, to expand educational opportunity for over 450 high-need local students at two school sites;
Pearl-Cohn Entertainment Magnet High School, and Cameron College Prep, a part of the LEAD Public
Schools network.
The program, which is open to all Nashville students entering 1st through 12th grade, provides five
weeks of rigorous instruction at no cost to families. Working alongside veteran educators, Teach For
America corps members who are training to begin teaching in local classrooms this fall staff the
program. Teach For America has provided free summer learning opportunities for high-needs
Nashville families since 2014. Last year, elementary students gained 2.5 months of reading growth
and high school students cumulatively earned more than 180 credits, enabling them to graduate on
time.
Teach For America is a nonprofit organization that recruits college graduates and professionals to
making a lifelong commitment to eliminating educational equity starting as classroom teachers in
low-income communities. The Teach For America-Greater Nashville Summer Institute is a unique
partnership opportunity that combines intensive training for teachers working in high-need public
schools and a critical solution for summer learning loss. Summer learning loss, the occurrence where
young people lose academic skills over the summer, is a significant contributor to the gap in academic
outcomes between lower and higher income youth.
“We are proud to partner with the District to offer students who may not otherwise have access to
summer learning opportunities. High-quality instruction over the summer sets students up for success
in August,” said Daphne Butler, Teach For America–Greater Nashville Board Chair. “Working with
Nashville students also provides our teachers a better understanding of what is needed to be
successful for the communities in which they will teach, and heightens our collaboration with the
District, which is a top priority for Teach For America.”
During the 2015–2016 school year, Teach For America’s seventh year in Greater Nashville, more than
180 corps members taught in high-need schools. Approximately 650 Teach For America alumni are
working in the region impacting local communities. Nearly 75 percent of local alumni continue to
work in education as teachers, school and district leaders, and in the education non-profit space while
others are leaders in fields like law and social work that impact access to a quality education.
Teach For America-Greater Nashville’s more than 70 new corps members will receive specialized
professional development from Teach For America staff, Lipscomb University and Relay Graduate
School of Education professors and instructors, as well as Dr. Donna Y. Ford of Vanderbilt University
on topics ranging from classroom management to culturally responsive teaching practices. In addition
to this professional development, corps members will also receive feedback and guidance from
veteran Metro Nashville Public School and LEAD Public School teachers. During their pre-service
training, corps members will live in Nashville, broaden their knowledge of the city and build
relationships with local educators, community members, and families of the students they teach.
This is the third year that Teach For America–Greater Nashville corps members have completed their
summer pre-service training here in Nashville. This training begins a two-year continuum of training
and support designed to ensure that corps members have a significant, positive impact on their
students’ personal and academic growth.
“Asurion is proud to support Teach For America for the third year as the Presenting Sponsor of the
Summer Academies” said Rick Martin, Asurion’s director of Compassion Forward, Asurion’s
philanthropic organization. “Throughout our longstanding partnership with Teach For America, we’ve
seen tremendous benefits across the board: a growing network of corps members and alumni
committed to expanding opportunity for students in Nashville, improvements in the education
provided to Nashville students, and a happier workforce within our company. We will continue to
support children and education in the communities where we work, and encourage others to do so as
well.”
The program is made possible by Presenting Sponsor Asurion; Lead Sponsor The James Stephen
Turner Family Foundation, The Scarlett Family Foundation, The Frist Foundation; Champion Sponsor
The HCA Foundation, Dan and Margaret Maddox Charitable Fund, The Memorial Foundation, Project
Renaissance, William Stamps Farish Fund; and also through the generous support of Caterpillar
Financial, Dell Inc., Rogers Group Inc., Bridgestone Americas Inc., The Community Foundation of
Middle Tennessee, Dollar General Literacy Foundation, Ingram Industries, Country Music Television,
Covenant Surgical Partners, Lee Company, Delek U.S., and State Farm.
A growing body of research demonstrates the effectiveness of Teach For America corps members in
the classroom. For the sixth year in a row, the Tennessee Higher Education Commission report card
identified Teach For America as one of the state’s most effective sources of teachers. The report
found that Teach For America corps members in Memphis and Nashville have a positive impact on
student achievement.
About Teach For America
Teach For America works in partnership with communities to expand educational opportunity
for children facing the challenges of poverty. Founded in 1990, Teach For America recruits
and develops a diverse corps of outstanding college graduates and professionals to make an initial
two-year commitment to teach in high-need schools and become lifelong leaders in the effort to
end educational inequity. Today, 8,600 corps members are teaching in 52 urban and rural regions
across the country while more than 42,000 alumni work across sectors to ensure that all children have
access to an excellent education. Teach For America is a proud member of the AmeriCorps national
service network. For more information, visit www.teachforamerica.org and follow us on Facebook
and Twitter.
About Metro Nashville Public Schools
Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools is the nation’s 42nd largest district, preparing more than 85,000
students to excel in higher education, work and life. With the goal of being the first choice for
Nashville’s families, Metro Schools is committed to providing a high quality education to every
student. The district is earning a national reputation for urban school reform, its commitment to
social and emotional learning and rising academic achievement, and currently ranks in the top 27
percent of districts in the state for academic performance. Its strategic plan, Education 2018:
Excellence for Every Student, sets the goal of becoming the nation’s top performing urban school
system by 2018. The governing body for Metro Schools is the Metropolitan Nashville Board of Public
Education, a nine-member elected body. For more information, visit www.mnps.org
About Asurion
Simply put, Asurion helps people stay connected. As the global leader of connected life services, we
provide over 290 million consumers around the world with simple, intuitive technology advice to help
them get the most from their devices; support to fix their issues and connectivity crisis, and device
protection to ensure they receive a replacement or repair. When a product is missing or simply
doesn't work properly, Asurion’s 17,000 employees are focused on solving the problem with people
and processes operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week, speaking six languages, and working
across any device, platform, or provider. By partnering with leading retailers, mobile carriers and paytv providers, Asurion helps customers enhance their lives through their technology. For more
information about Asurion, please visit www.asurion.com.
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