Opinion: Don't wait for Tennessee to fix the youth gun violence crisis. There's another path.

This article was originally published in The Tennessean.

Lonnell Matthews
Guest Columnist

A mass shooting at a small private Christian school affecting mostly white, affluent families is so unimaginable that it sparked a state-wide conversation about gun laws and school safety protocols.

While that conversation is important, we also have to acknowledge that school shootings are not the reason guns are the leading cause of death for children in Tennessee. Homicides in homes and communities are driving that statistic, and it’s black teens who face the greatest risk of dying from gun violence.

While it’s up to our state leaders to decide whether they change our gun laws, there are other life-saving public policies we can affect here at the local level that our new mayor has promised to champion.

Child homicide deaths could have been prevented. Here's how.

In his inaugural address, Mayor Freddie O’Connell declared it “a new day in Nashville,” and specifically asked Nashvillians to stand with and push city leadership as they make “policy choices that move us in the right directions.”

Let’s work together and use this moment, while there is a spotlight on this issue, to start a broader conversation about why gun violence is affecting our children’s lives.  

The most recent Davidson County Child Death Review report by the Metro Public Health Department documents that most child homicide victims were “experiencing one or more behavioral, social, or school-related issues prior to death,” including truancy, academic issues, or they were previously suspended or expelled from school.

Most of the victims were killed by someone they knew, such as a peer or family member, but the circumstances of their deaths varied. Some of the homicides were related to other crimes or gang violence, while others involved domestic violence, arguments, or simply someone playing with a gun.

The common thread here: All of their deaths could have been prevented if the teens had been surrounded by more positive support and policy.

Five solutions to addressing gun violence afflicting children 

So how do we better protect our kids?

We know that when a child is having academic or behavioral issues at school, it can be a sign that they’re facing difficulties outside of school. In recognizing this, Metro Nashville Public Schools rewrote its disciplinary code a decade ago to reflect restorative justice practices, reduce discipline disparities, and help quell the school-to-prison pipeline.

The initiative has made a difference, but talk to any high school principal in Nashville and they’ll tell you that managing threats of violence and guns brought to school is still the No. 1 issue keeping them up at night.

This is a societal issue our schools can’t solve alone. It demands a community-wide solution aimed at reducing the root causes of crime, violence, and juvenile delinquency. We can start by:

• Better supporting parents: When parents struggle, their children do too. Rather than blame parents, let’s help them. From access to high-quality childcare to affordable housing for families to resources that help break generational cycles of violence, we can improve the lives of children by improving the lives of parents. 

• Addressing childhood trauma: We need to view the need for mental health services following childhood trauma the same way we view our children’s needs for nutritious food and medical care. Research shows a direct link between unaddressed childhood trauma and risk-taking behaviors during adolescence and adulthood.  

• Investing in early academic interventions, especially literacy: The path that leads a high school student to become disengaged from their education usually starts in elementary and middle school, and it affects the rest of their life. Research has shown that upwards of 75% of the adult prison population in our country is illiterate. Let’s view improving our city’s literacy rates as a public safety need, not just an academic one. 

• Offering more after-school options: After-school activities can give kids a sense of belonging, help them build a positive relationship with a caring adult, and occupy their time when juvenile crime is most likely to occur.  

• Expanding youth employment opportunities: Teens who turn to criminal behavior are often financially motivated. Let’s give them better options while also improving our city’s workforce pipeline.  

Nashville has advocates championing several of these issues already, but the conversations are siloed and that needs to change. Youth gun violence is not an isolated problem; it is a symptom of systemic disparities that have long plagued marginalized communities.

Let’s channel the recent swell of energy for saving children from gun deaths into building a more just, equitable, and safer city for all of us.

Lonnell Matthews is the elected Juvenile Court Clerk in Davidson County. He serves as a board member for Opportunity Nashville, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization advocating for educational equity in Nashville. Lonnell also leads My Brother's Keeper Nashville.

Opportunity Nashville Releases Education Policy Voter Guide for 2023 Mayoral Candidates

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (July 17, 2023) — With 12 candidates vying for the open position of Nashville Mayor this year, Opportunity Nashville has created a guide to help undecided voters evaluate their choices based on the candidates’ positions on public education policy. The guide is available online through the Opportunity Nashville website at  www.opportunitynashville.org/mayoral-candidate-guide.  

“Public education is one of the largest expenditures for Metro Government, yet educational inequity still plagues our city,” said Tanaka Vercher, executive director of Opportunity Nashville. “The mayor is responsible for proposing the city’s annual operating and capital budgets, including more than $1 billion for public schools. Just as important, the mayor sets the tone for citywide priorities. To make an informed choice for mayor, voters need to understand where each candidate stands on public education policy.”   

Because of the number of mayoral candidates, a runoff election will take place between the two candidates who received the highest number of votes in the Aug. 3 election. Opportunity Nashville has partnered with Nashville Public Television (NPT) to produce and broadcast a live mayoral debate between those top two mayoral candidates. The Nashville Mayoral Debate on Public Education will take place on Thursday, Aug. 17, at 7 p.m. CT, and can be viewed over the air, online, or through multiple streaming services: How to watch NPT. 

The debate format will include questions from community members. Opportunity Nashville is specifically calling for questions from MNPS stakeholders, including former and current students, parents, and teachers. 

“The very foundation of Nashville Public Television is built on education and we are excited to partner with Opportunity Nashville to feature our final candidates in a conversation that will reflect the challenges and opportunities within public education in our great city,” said Becky Magura, NPT president and CEO. “The state of public education requires all of us to be informed and engaged. I’m excited that NPT and Opportunity Nashville are working together to provide a timely debate for our citizens to learn more before they vote.”

Questions can be submitted online through the Opportunity Nashville website or you can also share a video submission via Dropbox. Videos must be filmed horizontally and include you stating your first and last name (and how to spell them), your ZIP code, and your role in the community (e.g., former or current MNPS parent, student or teacher). The deadline to submit a question is Sunday, Aug. 13. 

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Opinion: The work to improve Metro Nashville Public Schools is far from over

This article was originally published in The Tennessean.

Tanaka Vercher
Guest Columnist

Shortly after the start of the school year, Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) threw a party at Central Office. It was a big one with everything you’d expect at a part y— balloons, food, dancing. Even the mayor was there. 

The director of schools stood in front of a banner celebrating MNPS as a “level five district,” which was referencing the recent release of Nashville’s score on the Tennessee Value Added Assessment System (TVAAS) from the 2021-22 school year. TVAAS measures academic growth of students from year to year.

When students take annual state assessments, like TNReady or end-of-course exams, the state compiles the achievement results showing how many of students are on grade level and how many are not. Growth scores (TVAAS scores) are different from achievement. TVAAS measures how much students improve, regardless if they’re on grade level or not. 

MNPS threw a party, because for the first time in five years the district’s TVAAS score was a five — which is the highest score possible on a scale of one to five, where one indicates less academic growth than expected and five indicates more growth than expected. 

Being recognized as a level five district for growth is a milestone worth celebrating. But now that we’ve taken a moment to be proud of our progress, let’s not forget that the work is far from done.

Accelerated academic growth is exactly what we want to see, but I think we can all agree that too few students are achieving on grade level in Nashville.  

Behind every score is a student 

Let’s be honest, no one likes standardized testing. The qualities and value of a person measure well beyond a single test, but at the same time, TNReady results allow us to hold our schools accountable.

Before testing, many students were left to struggle in life without access to an equal education− namely students of color and students from low-income families.  

Too many families are left in the dark about how their children are performing on nationally-normed tests, which is the best way to know how they are doing academically compared to their similar-age peers. Instead, parents receive report cards with grades that often don’t connect with a child’s progress toward meeting the state’s academic standards. 

TNReady scores matter because behind every score is a student who will one day apply for college or a job. Their ability to become a financially stable, productive adult will largely depend on whether their education has prepared them to succeed in that next step in life.

Nashville is attracting thousands of high-paying jobs from large companies like Amazon and Oracle. Our city should be preparing our local students to be competitive for those jobs, but the pandemic has made this even harder.  

Pandemic widened achievement gaps, and they’re not closing 

The pandemic made learning difficult for all students. So it was no surprise when we saw test scores plunge statewide in 2021, as one Tennessean headline put it. Testing was canceled in the spring of 2020, making last year the first chance to measure the pandemic’s impact on students.  

It was also not surprising that the academic achievement of students who have been historically underserved −students of color and students from low-income families− by our public school system declined the most.

On top of navigating school closures and virtual learning, these students and their families were more likely to suffer from the socio-economic disparities that the pandemic further exacerbated. Imagine how hard it is to learn from virtual instruction if your family is struggling with basic needs like housing or food.  

Achievement gaps for students of color and economically disadvantaged students is a pervasive problem in public school education, long predating the pandemic. Their white, middle class peers are far more likely to achieve on grade level in school.

These gaps widened during the pandemic, and we’re not making any progress to close them. For example, the 2022 TNReady scores that came out this summer show that nearly half of White students in grades three to eight are reading on grade level, but fewer than one in five Black and Hispanic students and only one in seven of economically disadvantaged students are reading on grade level. 

We need a rallying cry and clear, measurable goals  

Nashville students made significant academic gains during the 2021-22 school year, which is why MNPS achieved that level five TVAAS score. But we cannot ignore the fact that groups of students who have historically been behind their peers are more behind than ever.  

The work of our educators has never been harder. We need our district leaders to articulate a concrete plan for helping our teachers move students forward who are struggling the most. We need a rallying cry for parents, community members, business owners, the faith community and nonprofits to all plug in and support individual students and schools. 

The district has multiple promising initiatives in the works, including their Equity Roadmap and a volunteer-based tutoring program. Now we need the district to set clear, measurable goals and explain what it’s going to take for us to meet those goals.   

The school district threw a pretty good party in August. When we can confidently say that all of our students are getting an equitable opportunity to succeed in life, it will be worth a city-wide celebration.

We can get there, if we all focus on it. 

Tanaka Vercher is the executive director of Opportunity Nashville, an advocacy organization focused on improving educational equity in Nashville.

Opinion: Nashville has important decisions to make about the future of public schools

This article was originally published in The Tennessean.

Tanaka Vercher
Guest Columnist

While kids across the city are spending time at summer camps, family vacations, and neighborhood pools, it’s time for us, the grown ups in their lives, to focus on their schools.

How should the district prioritize resources this fall? How will students recover academically and emotionally after living through multiple years impacted by a global pandemic? Most importantly, how can we keep our students safe while they’re in our school buildings?

The best way to have a voice in what happens in our kids’ schools is to step up and vote in our local school board elections this August.

Elected school board members decide budget priorities and set policies that impact all students, and now is the time to get informed and get ready to vote.

Even-numbered board seats (2, 4, 6, and 8) are on the ballot in August. Before we had Nashville’s first-ever partisan primary race for school board candidates back in May, district lines were redrawn by the city, so make sure to check which district you’re in.

Mark your calendar for June 28 forum and other key dates

I lead a nonprofit organization called Opportunity Nashville, which focuses exclusively on advocating for educational equity. We do this by promoting public conversation, democratic participation, and elected representation.

We are working hard to make sure families, who are impacted by the school board’s decisions the most, have their voices heard, are informed about their options, and remain actively engaged.

This spring, we hosted a series of school board candidate listening sessions so voters and families could discuss their priorities for Nashville’s schools with candidates. And just prior to the voter registration deadline next month, we will continue that conversation through a candidate forum on June 28, hosted by David Plazas, director of opinion and engagement for the USA TODAY Network in Tennessee.

Partnering with us on this event are some familiar community organizations you may already know: Conexión Américas, CivicTN, Urban League of Middle Tennessee, Tennessee Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC), Nashville Organized for Action and Hope (NOAH), and The Tennessean.

Dates to Remember

• June 28: School Board Candidate Forum, 6-7:30 p.m., at Xenote in Plaza Mariachi, 3955 Nolensville Pike, Nashville, 37211

• July 5: Voter registration deadline

• July 15-30: Early voting

• Aug 4: Election Day

Education is Nashville's most pervasive social justice issue

We are doing this work because Nashville has a thriving, diverse economy, full of opportunities. But those opportunities are out of reach for too many of our local students who aren’t adequately prepared to succeed in college or career after high school.

Access to a high-quality education is Nashville’s most pervasive social justice issue. For decades, access to a high-quality public school in Nashville has largely been determined by a family’s ZIP code. Our city must focus on ending the systemic inequities that have existed in our public schools, so all students are provided the opportunity to succeed in life.

In fact, only one in three Metro Nashville Public Schools students are considered by the state to be a “Ready Graduate,” meaning they have a 21 on the ACT or they’ve completed coursework that will prepare them to go directly into the workforce.

It is an injustice and an embarrassment that less than one-third of our youth are well positioned for success after high school. The percentage is even smaller for students of color (21%) and students who are economically disadvantaged (18.9%). Nashville is growing, but we’re still a small enough city that we can fix this, if we make it a priority.

The power to make positive change in our school system ultimately sits with our elected school board. But it takes the entire community getting involved to create the vision of what we want our schools to look like and elect the candidates who are committed to making change. Let’s get to work, Nashville.

Tanaka Vercher, a two-term Metro Council Member serving Antioch’s District 28 and a veteran of the U.S. Navy, is the executive director of Opportunity Nashville. The local nonprofit advocacy organization is focused on improving educational equity in Nashville so that all students are provided the opportunity to succeed in life.

Opportunity Nashville to Hold School Board Candidate Forum at Plaza Mariachi on June 28, moderated by The Tennessean’s David Plazas

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Opportunity Nashville is partnering with The Tennessean and other community organizations to facilitate a school board candidate forum ahead of the General Election for school board districts 2, 4, 6, and 8. The forum will take place inside Xenote at Plaza Mariachi on Tuesday, June 28 from 6-8:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

Community organizations co-hosting this forum include Conexión Américas, Nashville Organized for Action and Hope (NOAH), Tennessee Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC), CivicTN, and Urban League of Middle Tennessee. The event is designed to give voters an opportunity to hear from all of the candidates on important topics related to public school policies and governance, so they can make an informed decision on Election Day on Aug. 4. The forum will be moderated by David Plazas, Director of Opinion and Engagement for the USA Today Network in Tennessee. 

This event is a follow up to the four “Listening Sessions” that Opportunity Nashville hosted this spring in each school board district on the ballot. ​​Some school board districts have changed through Nashville’s recent redistricting process, so voters can use the interactive map created by the Metro Nashville Planning Commission to identify their school board district by searching their home address. The last day to register to vote is July 5.  

WHAT: School Board Candidate Forum hosted by Opportunity Nashville 

WHO: All school board candidates in districts 2, 4, 6, and 8 have been invited to participate. The discussion will be moderated by David Plazas, Director of Opinion and Engagement for the USA Today Network in Tennessee. 

WHEN: Tuesday, June 28, 2022 from 6-7:30 p.m.

WHERE: Xenote event venue inside Plaza Mariachi, 3955 Nolensville Pike, Nashville, 37211 

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Opportunity Nashville Creates Comprehensive Voter Guide for 2022 School Board Elections

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (April 20, 2022) — With 14 candidates vying for four school board seats this year — and a first-ever primary race that kicks off voting much earlier than usual — Opportunity Nashville has created a comprehensive guide to help voters navigate both the election process and their choices to lead Nashville’s public education system. 

The guide is available from the homepage of Opportunity Nashville’s website: www.opportunitynashville.org. 

“Informed and engaged voters are essential for selecting an effective school board that will prioritize equity across the district,” Vercher said. “This is the only guide specific to school board races. We didn’t give candidates a word limit on their responses, and all but one candidate responded to Opportunity Nashville’s candidate survey. This guide offers the most comprehensive look at the decisions voters have to make this year about our school board.”

Nashville’s school board oversees a budget of more than $1 billion, representing over one-third of the city’s entire operating budget. Their decisions impact more than 85,000 students and 11,000 public employees. 

For the first time in Nashville’s history, the school board races are partisan. Candidates face a primary election on May 3 and a general election on August 4. Informed by data from the most recent U.S. Census, school board district boundaries were also redrawn this past year to reflect changes to the city’s population. The result of these changes is that voters must get informed earlier than ever, including making sure they know which district they live in. 

In order to help voters engage in the school board elections, Opportunity Nashville facilitated a series of public listening sessions last month. By partnering with other established community organizations, Opportunity Nashville hosted a meeting in each of the four even-numbered school board districts, all of which will be on the ballot in August. The listening sessions were designed to gather input from parents and voters about what the school board needs to do to ensure there’s a great school in every neighborhood. The resulting voter guide is a compilation of the ideas and concerns raised in those meetings, set alongside school board candidates’ priorities, in their own words. 

“There was so much thoughtful discussion during our listening sessions, and we are excited to share what we heard with our entire community,” Vercher said. “It can be difficult, particularly for busy families, to stay informed on candidates’ platforms for local elections. We hope this guide helps.”  

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Education Organization Opportunity Nashville to Hold School Board Candidate Listening Sessions in Districts 2, 4, 6, and 8

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Opportunity Nashville, an education advocacy organization, is giving families, educators, and voters an opportunity to make their voices heard, by facilitating a series of public listening sessions in the four districts on the ballot in the 2022 school board race.

These events are designed to gather input from the community about what the school board needs to do to improve educational equity across Nashville. The format of the listening sessions will be the reverse of the typical political forum where candidates share their positions and platform. Instead, parents and voters will be invited to share their ideas, which Opportunity Nashville will document and disseminate in a voter guide after the events. 

​​Some school board districts have changed through Nashville’s recent redistricting process. Voters can use this interactive map created by the Metro Nashville Planning Commission to identify their school board district by searching their home address. 

Advance registration for the listening sessions is encouraged, but not required. Complete event information in English, Spanish, and Arabic is available online at https://opportunitynashville.org/listening-sessions-with-school-board-candidates/. 

DATES & LOCATIONS 

All four events will be held from 6-7:30 p.m.  

District 4
Monday, March 21
Nashville Public Library, Hermitage Branch
3700 James Kay Lane, 37076

District 2
Thursday, March 24
Nashville Public Library, Edmondson Branch
5501 Edmondson Pike, 37211 

District 8
Monday, March 28
Nashville Public Library, Green Hills Branch
3701 Benham Ave, 37215

District 6
Tuesday, March 29
Nashville Public Library, Southeast Branch
5260 Hickory Hollow Pkwy #201, 37013

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Tanaka Vercher to lead nonprofit advocacy organization focused on educational equity

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (January 31, 2022) — Opportunity Nashville, a nonprofit advocacy organization, has hired Tanaka Vercher to serve as its first executive director. She is charged with leading an effort to elevate Nashville’s sense of urgency to improve educational equity.  

Vercher, who is also a two-term Metro Council Member serving Antioch’s District 28 and a veteran of the U.S. Navy, has spent much of her professional career working as an administrator in higher education at the Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation and Tennessee State University, supporting college-bound students.

“Nashville has a thriving, diverse economy, full of opportunities. But those opportunities are out of reach for too many of our local students who aren’t adequately prepared to succeed in college or career after high school,” Vercher said. “Access to a high-quality education is Nashville’s most pervasive social justice issue. For decades, access to a high-quality public school in Nashville has largely been determined by a family’s zip code. Our city must focus on ending the systemic inequities that have existed in our public schools, so all students are provided the opportunity to succeed in life.” 

As evidence of this, Vercher pointed to the low percentage of Metro Nashville Public Schools students who are considered by the state to be a “Ready Graduate,” meaning they have a 21 on the ACT or they’ve completed coursework that will prepare them to go directly into the workforce. 

“Only 30% of MNPS students are Ready Graduates, meaning less than one-third of our youth are well positioned for success after high school. The percentage is even smaller for students of color (21%) and students who are economically disadvantaged (18.9%). Nashville is growing, but we’re still a small enough city that we can fix this, if we make it a priority,” Vercher said. 

Vercher will oversee the work of Opportunity Nashville to drive improvement in educational equity through three areas of focus: public conversation, democratic participation, and elected representation.

One of the organization’s first efforts will be to facilitate a series of public listening sessions during the 2022 school board race. By partnering with other established community organizations, Opportunity Nashville will host a meeting in each of the four even-numbered school board districts, all of which will be on the ballot in August. 

The format of the listening sessions will be the reverse of the typical political forum where candidates share their ideas. Instead, the meetings will be designed to gather input from parents and voters about what the school board needs to do to ensure there’s a great school in every neighborhood. 

“The power to make positive change in our school system ultimately sits with our elected school board. But it takes the entire community getting involved to create the vision of what we want our schools to look like and elect the candidates who are committed to making change,” Vercher said. 

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