NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Last week, Metro's Director of Schools Dr. Adrienne Battle celebrated the district's achievement of 48 top-tier "reward schools" and designation as an "advancing" school district by the state.
But a group of parents said that's not the whole story.
Education advocates with Nashville PROPEL are demanding policy changes to help consistently underperforming schools, known as "priority" schools.
The group said many of those priority schools are zoned in the city's historically Black communities.
PROPEL's goal is to partner with principals to come up with a concrete plan to get at least half of the students reading at grade level by the end of the school year.
"Parents must be able to have access to high-performing schools of their choice, with transportation provided for them. And as a community, we cannot keep ignoring the children over here, or the struggling families trying to find housing that they can truly afford," said Executive Director for Nashville PROPEL Sonya Thomas.
According to Metro Schools, the district will be working with each priority school to make sure what the district calls "success strategies" are being implemented.
Watch the full PROPEL Nashville press conference in the video player below:
