NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) has been awarded a highly competitive federal Magnet Schools Assistance Program (MSAP) grant from the Department of Education for $14.6 million to be used over the next five years. The district will use the grant to create new magnet programs in two schools and significantly revise two existing magnet programs. The additional new magnet funding will support the district’s goal of providing families with increased choice and its mission of delivering a great public education to every student, every day.
“This is an exciting opportunity for our schools to build and promote unique programming that will support student learning and growth, while also promoting the excellence of schools within MNPS,” said Dr. Adrienne Battle. “The MSAP process is very rigorous and competitive, so I’m proud of the collaboration that took place between the district and school leaders to earn this highly sought-after grant award.”
Metro Schools will immediately begin planning implementation of the grant and will also consider these changes as part of the MNPS Reimagined Strategic Initiative Framework. The schools slated for the grant, and their planned programs, are:
- Isaiah T. Creswell Magnet Middle School of Visual & Performing Arts
- Carter-Lawrence Engineering Magnet Elementary
- Alex Green Design Technology Elementary
- Tom Joy Digital Literacy & Leadership Magnet Elementary
Having received prior MSAP funding for 5 Elementary Schools in 2017, MNPS is excited to continue the momentum and progress made to become a regional and national example of innovation and equity for all students.
These schools were chosen because each has a higher percentage of minority students enrolled than the district average for Elementary and Middle Schools. The new academic focus and magnet themed programming is designed to not only provide additional opportunities to students currently enrolled in these schools, but also attract more students to enroll.
The objectives for the new MNPS MSAP project are to:
- Reduce minority group isolation among African American and Hispanic students in proposed magnet schools;
- Ensure all students attending the magnet schools meet challenging academic standards and are on track to be college- and career-ready;
- Ensure that all students attending the magnet schools benefit from the magnet’s educational offerings and have equal opportunities to gain magnet theme-specific value-added skills and knowledge; and
- Build the capacity within the magnet schools to provide rigorous, theme- and evidence-based instructional programs that will help promote choice and diversity in MNPS.
 has been awarded a highly competitive federal Magnet Schools Assistance Program (MSAP) grant from the Department of Education for $14.6 million to be used over the next five years.){kind=link}