Nashville students facing struggles greater than academic issues
Our Nashville children are struggling. But it isn’t purely an academic struggle.
by: Erika Borg
Nashville students are facing toxic stress. What is toxic stress? It is a constant high level of stress caused by the threat of homelessness, poverty, violence, a chaotic home life, loss of loved ones, depression, drug culture, frequent moving due to gentrification, or illness. This is different from a one time traumatic event, because it is unrelenting. One experience after another, making daily activities seem insurmountable.
It’s estimated that one in three urban youth at any given time experience mild to severe Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. In a typical classroom, just under half will have experienced three or more traumatic experiences.
When you are busy trying to help your parents make sure there is enough food on the table – your history test takes a back seat.
Metro Nashville Public Schools teachers and principals are making valiant efforts to help provide a safe and nurturing space where young people can overcome trauma. But they cannot do it alone.
Nor should they be expected to. The Nashville Education Report Card Committee recommended MNPS, in direct partnership with community partners, should conduct a cluster-based needs assessment with the goal of aligning MNPS and community resources across school tiers to provide consistent access for students and families.
This recommendation is aimed at directly acknowledging the district cannot be expected to be all things to Nashville’s children. Nor does it have to. Nashville has an incredible nonprofit community ready and willing to partner with the district. Many of our city’s nonprofits are already doing amazing work with our children both in and out of our schools. Work – like Second Harvest’s food pantries in schools to help ensure our children are not going to school hungry.
MNPS’s Community Achieves, PENCIL Foundation, Communities in Schools, and Alignment Nashville along with hundreds of regional nonprofits are all working with similar missions: to help Nashville’s young people succeed. Yet, resource allocation continues to be un-even. Some schools are flooded with partnerships and resources, while others struggle to provide their students and families with the basics.
When you’ve lost your best friend to violence, it can be hard to concentrate on reading. Our schools are short on counselors and resources to provide much more than crisis management. Yet community partners such as STARS have stepped up to provide school-based mental health.
Nashville has a history of rising to challenges to help out its fellow citizens. In order to do better, and maximize Nashville’s rich non-profit resources, we need to know what is needed and where. The business community, individuals and nonprofits are left guessing at what a school really needs and offering up marginally helpful solutions without clear information from the district. With this recommendation, there is an opportunity to change that. MNPS doesn’t have to go it alone to tackle the social and emotional problems our youth are facing. We just need a roadmap and comprehensive understanding of what is needed and where.
Erika Borg is a second year committee member on the 2018 Education Report Card Committee. She has nearly 20 years experience working within philanthropic, nonprofit and corporate circles to improve the lives of young people. In 2018 she started Civic Allies Consulting which supports businesses, nonprofits and philanthropy in drawing up strategy, programmatic design and identifying funding to support lasting civic change.