Metro Board Representative Elissa Kim is proving her support for students and staff in the district. Kim recently spoke at Head Middle Magnet School's Pastries With Parents. A staunch advocate for quality public education, Kim shared her history with parents as well as her excitement of helping take Teach for America nationwide.

Kim is also conducting a “listening tour” through which she will assess the needs of parents, students, and educators in District 5. After her presentation, parents had the opportunity to ask questions and share insight. 

It’s called the Office of Innovation for a reason! Here are a few great examples of the work happening in our Innovation Zone schools:

Hattie Cotton is entering the Magnet Schools of America Schools of Excellence contest. The Hogan Lovells Award was established in 2006 to recognize new and emerging magnet programs.

Congratulations to the Promethium grant winners from Napier: Emily Parsely, 2nd grade; Camellia Wells, Kindergarten; and Mary Jane Hollingsworth, 4thgrade.

Cameron received a $500 grant from the National Archery in Schools Program (NASP), and a $1,000 grant from TWRA for their new Archery program.

Katie Kendall, science teacher at John Early Museum Magnet Middle School, has been selected as this year’s recipient of the TSTA 5-8 Science Educator of the Year award. This prestigious award seeks to recognize outstanding science teachers from across the state. Katie was recognized formally at an awards luncheon held at the Embassy Suites Conference Center in Murfreesboro Friday, Nov. 2, 2012.

Vanderbilt Student Volunteers for Science (VSVS) applauds John Early faculty and students for a great semester and looks forward to continuing and growing partnership!

Buena Vista students participated in Recycle to Win. Photos are here.

John Early students took their Egyptian studies unit to a new level … they mummified chickens…Just in time for the holidays!

Stratford STEM Magnet High and Pearl-Cohn Entertainment Magnet High carried the torch with successful Academy showcases during the National Career Academy Coalition conference held in Nashville in early November. Pearl-Cohn also hosted a group from the National Alliance of Black School Educators during their annual conference, also in Nashville.

Two days before the Thanksgiving holiday, it’s a pretty fair assumption that turkeys are on
the minds of many. But at John Early Museum Magnet Middle School, a different type of fowl has students preoccupied.

As part of a unit on Egyptian culture, the students are studying mummies. Nothing really new there, but what IS new is that students are actually mummifying chickens. Check out the photos below of the project-based lesson in action!

John Early Museum Magnet Middle School gives students a chance to learn rigorous academics in the setting of a museum. The school teaches and implements museum methods including inquiry, critical thinking, projects, interpretation and hands-on analysis of objects. It relies on the integration of the arts across the curriculum to further engage students, and it enlists the help of curators and educators from more than 30 museums, historic sites and organizations in the midstate.

We’re halfway into the Optional School Application period. Pearl-Cohn Entertainment Magnet High and Stratford STEM Magnet High leaders are eager for you to see the challenging and engaging programs that are happening in their schools!

Thursday, Nov. 15, both schools will open their doors to the community with student showcases, classroom tours, and more. The Stratford program runs from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.; the Pearl-Cohn program runs from 6 - 7:30 p.m.

Specific to Pearl-Cohn Entertainment Magnet High School, families will see a dynamic student performance; tour PCTV, the school television studio; watch project-based learning demonstrations; and be able to meet with image consultants!

Meanwhile, families interested in science, technology, engineering and math programs at Stratford STEM Magnet High will be able to tour the schools’ two Academies, The Academy of Science and Engineering and The Academy of National Safety and Securities Technology. Families will also get the first look the school’s state-of-the-art Biotechnology and Computer Gaming/Simulation Laboratory; the event will serve as the grand opening for this new learning laboratory.

Optional School enrollment is now available online. The deadline to apply is 5:30 p.m., Nov. 30 if you want to be included in the random selection process that will be held in early January.

Rose Park Math and Science Magnet Middle School won the highly coveted SCORE Prize, a statewide award that recognizes dramatic improvement in student achievement. Rose Park won in the middle school division.

Families at Robert Churchwell Museum Magnet joined together for a fun night of reading. Literacy Night at Robert Churchwell gives parents an opportunity to share their love of reading with their children, as well as explore new ways to include daily reading activities with children.



Robert Churchwell Museum Magnet caters to the budding storyteller. The museum theme allows students to uncover interesting and unique stories and find creative, meaningful ways to share them. The school benefits from strong community partnerships with Adventure Science Center, Cheekwood Botanical Gardens & Museum of Art, Frist Center for the Visual Arts, and the Tennessee State Museum.

Rose Park Magnet Middle School is up for quite an honor; the school is one of three middle schools in Tennessee in the running for the second annual SCORE Prize. Winners will be announced Monday, Oct. 8, at the Ryman Auditorium. The ceremony begins at 6 p.m.



The award recognizes one school at each tier, as well as one school district that have shown dramatic improvements in student achievement. If selected, Rose Park will receive $10,000.

Martin Luther King Jr. Magnet School English teacher Christopher Dowlen is at the top of his class! Dowlen was recently awarded the Don Jenkins Award for Excellence in the Teaching of English/Language Arts. Up to three teachers from Tennessee are awarded this prestigious honor each year.

If you haven't checked out Nashville's Limitless Library lately, you should! The site now boasts the system's catchy, new slogan "The future is in your hands, make it limitless," penned by Rose Park student Sundus C. Sundus is an avid Limitless Libraries user.



Limitless Libraries is a partnership between Nashville Public Libraries and MNPS, launched in 2009 under the direction of Mayor Karl Dean. Thousands of students in all Metro Schools use the system daily to access online literature, DVDs, CDs, and more.

Students at Martin Luther King Jr. Magnet School have an incredible new Heath & Fitness facility at their disposal. Thanks to Dane Burks & Company Fitness and the YMCA of Middle Tennessee, the school now has a brand new, state-of-the-art fitness facility for students and staff. The center includes elliptical trainers, a full weight gym, treadmills, and more. The project began as a simple need noticed by Lifetime Wellness teacher, Dr. Tina Bozeman, NBCT, but culminated with a true community partnership.

Looking for something fun, and free, to do tonight? It's Nashville School of the Arts Night at Shakespeare in the Park. Load up the family, picnic baskets, blankets, and/or lawn chairs and enjoy the high school theatre department's performances. The show starts at 7:30 p.m., at the Centennial Park Bandshell. 

Families at Robert Churchwell Museum Magnet Elementary School and the Nashville community came together to see just how fun math can be!  Nashville Public Television, TSU Women’s Basketball Players, WSMV's Snowbird, Vanderbilt University's Mr. Commodore, and representatives from 92Q celebrated the evening and focused on fine-tuning math skills with the students and families of Robert Churchwell.

Roughly 180 students and their parents attended the special family night. They enjoyed a dance-off with area mascots and tested their math skills with a variety of hands-on problems that needed solving.

Hume-Fogg junior Erin W. has earned national recognition in The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards of 2012, presented by the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers. Erin has been identified by panels of professional artists and writers as one of the most talented young artists in the nation. This year, 200,000 works of art and writing were submitted. Only the top 1,500 were recognized at the national level. These students have been invited to attend a ceremony at the world-famous Carnegie Hall on June 1 and to participate in showcase events at Parsons The New School for Design in New York City. Erin’s painting is titled Onions.

Grace P., an 8th grader at Martin Luther King, Jr. Magnet, won the Middle Tennessee Regionals Spelling Bee on Friday, March 2.  By taking 1st place, Grace became the Regionals champion and will be competing in the National Spelling Bee later this year. Grace beat out the top 52 spellers from all the other Middle Tennessee counties and will be representing Tennessee at Nationals. Grace clinched her victory by spelling the word “j-i-m-b-e-r-j-a-w-e-d” correctly. Some of her other challenging words were “Hemerocallis”, “solder”, and “Qatari”. 

Students at John Early Museum Magnet Middle School and Meigs Magnet School took more than a dozen medals home from the regional History Day Competition held at Middle Tennessee State University. The students competed in five categories including research paper, exhibit, documentary, website, and performance. Those who placed are now eligible to compete at Tennessee History Day in April. The state competition will be held at War Memorial Auditorium and Legislative Plaza. 

Bailey STEM Magnet Middle School is hosting a community blood drive. Check out the flyer below for details.

Friday, Jan. 20, a select group of Head Middle Magnet School students from Mr. Paul Sparks' fifth grade math class participated in the Block Kids Building Program. Individual students were given 40 minutes to construct a building with Lego blocks. The structure that was created by each student was judged on design, rationale, and practical use. Students had to explain their design and any other feature they built within the design under the rationale category. Quinn T. was the winner of this building contest. In addition to a cash award, his design will now advance to the regional competition.

Congratulations to John Early Museum Magnet Middle School for being the top winners in the SUMDOG district Math competition with an overall score of 4,755 points!  JEMMMS students won every round, and eight students placed in the top 10 for the entire district. These students will be presented with a certificate for their respective ranking, and every student who participated will be rewarded with a pizza party.

The school will receive an engraved trophy and a site license for Yenka Mathematics software, worth $750.  Again, congratulations to JEMMMS students for their outstanding performance!

Students, staff and community members of Hume-Fogg Academic Magnet High School celebrated their new Blue Ribbon status with numerous dignitaries and free ice cream courtesy of Blue Bell last Friday. The school was awarded the national honor for its overall academic excellence. It was one of just six schools statewide given the honor. Senior Em’maja Hancock is seen below addressing the crowd.

Tuesday, Nov. 15, Rose Park Math & Science Magnet School held its first Family Math Night and Open House for prospective parents, which more than 200 students and parents attended. Rose Park’s Numeracy Coach, Carol Lampkin explains, “The objective of Family Math Night is to engage parents and students in active, purposeful learning, and see that math is FUN! It also gives our students the opportunity to confirm their knowledge and demonstrate mastery of math standards while allowing them to enhance their leadership skills.”

Participants rotated through various stations that were all created, set up and facilitated by Rose Park students. These stations included problem-solving and real-life application math games that can also be done at home.

Rose Park Magnet Principal, Risè W. Pope was extremely pleased with the turn out, saying, “At Rose Park Math & Science Magnet Middle School, we are serious and committed to providing opportunities to explore Math and Science. Events like this further demonstrate that our students are passionate and dedicated to the rigorous math and science curriculum that we have in place."

Oct. 13, Head Middle Magnet School held its annual Egg Drop!

Every Head Magnet student made a container that would not only survive a fall from the top of the gym, but would also hold an egg that would survive the drop as well. Many parents came to watch the vessel their child created be dropped from the top of Head’s gym. The parents wanted to see if the container that carried and hopefully protected the egg survived the fall without breaking or cracking.

Friday, September 2, 2011, more than 400 students at Pearl-Cohn Entertainment Magnet High School were treated to a pre-Labor Day concert by Oyama & Nitta. Yutaka Oyama and Masahiro Nitta are Japanese shamisen players who were in Nashville as one of the featured acts for the National Folk Festival. The students enjoyed this musical performance comprised of numbers which showcased the versatility of the musicians in playing classical and original scores that showcased syncopated and poly rhythms. From native folk songs to melodies that were familiar to some, all were entertained, awed, and delighted with the performance. Oyama & Nitta have performed throughout Asia, Europe, and the United States, sharing their talent with not only the music world, but with schools and community music programs.

But this was more than just a fun event. It was a learning opportunity for students in the Academy of Entertainment Communication as they worked with their teachers and other professionals in setting up the sound, technology, and video for the performance.  Students in the audio-engineering classes assisted in preparing the auditorium for optimal sound. The TV Broadcasting students video-taped the performance and interviewed Oyama & Nitta. 

Students at Stratford STEM Magnet High School had some fun adding a few splashes of color to their high school walls this summer. A special thanks to local artist Nathan Brown who led the project and shared this great video.

The July 1 deadline to enroll in the inaugural Lights, Camera, Action! Entertainment Production Camp at Pearl-Cohn Entertainment Magnet High is fast approaching! If you or someone you know has a rising 7th or 8th grader with an interest in the entertainment industry, this weeklong camp is a great way to introduce him or her to life behind the scenes of showbiz. Campers will learn about television production and broadcasting, audio recording, and personal image management.

Curious to learn more?

Tuesday, March 8, all students and families interested in applying for one of the three new STEM Magnet schools - Hattie Cotton for elementary grades, Bailey for middle grades, and Stratford for high school grades - are invited to attend a STEM Magnet Showcase Night. The evening will consist of an overview of MNPS's six new thematic magnet schools, unique features of the STEM Magnets including a partnership with Vanderbilt University, hands-on demonstrations, and special displays be each of the three schools. Guests will be able to speak with students, staff and Vanderbilt representatives about the unique programs and partnerships. The presentation begins at 5:30 p.m., at Stratford High School.

With Tennessee’s new standards among the toughest in the nation, the district set the academic magnet qualification standard for 2011-2012 at “Proficient” in both Reading and Math on TCAP. The district did not change its process this year, it simply used the new state standards to determine its qualifying scores. The “Proficient” TCAP standard is understandable, available to parents, and allows a diverse group of academically qualified students to enter the magnet school lottery. The district considered using other qualifying criteria, like scoring Advanced in both Reading and Math, or scoring Advanced in one subject and Proficient in the other. With the tough new TCAP standards, these approaches would not fill the seats available at the academic magnet schools. District staff will monitor these numbers in the future to determine when to make adjustments as student achievement increases. Academic Magnet School Qualifying CriteriaStudents may qualify for academic magnet schools for the 2011-2012 school year as follows: Students must have an academic average of 85 or above for the spring semester of last year and the first grading period of the current year with no failing grades, and Students must score Proficient or Advanced in both Reading and Math on either the 2010 TCAP Achievement Test or the 2010 TCAP English Linguistically Simplified Assessment (ELSA). Students who did not take TCAP can qualify with a combined stanine of 14 or higher for Reading and Math on a nationally normed achievement test. Click here to read more about magnet schools.