What I notice most in Nashville’s public schools is the resilience, creativity and excellence that shines through every day from teachers and students. At its core, the story of Metro schools is the story of who we are as a city, and the story of who we are becoming.
Public schools are where possibility meets empowerment — the kind of hope, connection and work that can change generations.
Public education belongs to the whole city. It is the heartbeat of a thriving, just and equitable Nashville that ensures our children are seen, supported and set up to lead lives of purpose and impact.
It represents the promise that every child, no matter their neighborhood, language, race or background, has the opportunity to dream boldly, learn deeply and step into a powerful future full of possibility.
On September 30, hundreds of Nashvillians joined us to celebrate our city’s public school excellence and induct nine new honorees into the Public Schools Hall of Fame. This year’s event recognized one visionary business leader, three outstanding Metro Nashville Public Schools alumni, two transformational high school teachers, one inspiring school leader, and two local nonprofits improving opportunities and resources for students.
According to an NPEF media release:
Nine remarkable honorees were inducted, including Janet Miller, Martesha Johnson Moore, Marlene Eskind Moses, Tom Parrish, Addison Barrack and Montrell Williams, Chris Plummer, Ed.D, as well as the Adroit and Nashville Tools for Schools organizations.
The Nashville Public Education Foundation (NPEF) makes the following announcement:
The Leadership Public Education application is open now through November 14! This opportunity is for anyone looking to gain knowledge about our public schools, grow a network of fellow public schools advocates, and share their experiences and voice in support of the students, teachers, and schools in our community. NPEF believes in order to advance positive outcomes for students, we all have a role to play; Leadership Public Education is a great way to engage in the community to help ensure all students thrive.
In partnership with the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, Leadership Public Education is a 6-month public education leadership development program that empowers individuals with the knowledge and skills to serve in community leadership roles at all levels of Metro Nashville Public Schools.
The Nashville Public Education Foundation made the following announcement:
Since 2021, NPEF has led a cohort of educators through a unique professional learning experience designed to harness their expertise and innovation. Teacherpreneurs participate in 5 sessions over January and February to build out ideas that help advance positive outcomes for students.
Teacherpreneurs will identify an issue they want to address, research root causes of the issue, learn about change management theory, and use design thinking strategies to create solutions that help students thrive. Then, Teacherpreneurs will pitch their ideas for a chance to win cash prizes and seed funding to pilot their idea.
TC Weber notes that public education often creates a culture that is toxic for its frontline workers – the teachers:
In 2025, school administrators still run buildings like it’s a 1980s kitchen. The pressure to “move the needle” on student achievement is suffocating.
In Metro Nashville Public Schools, leadership talks to principals and teachers with open disrespect. It’s framed as urgency for students. But it’s demoralizing. It’s toxic.
He notes some startling stats:
Teachers are 40% more likely to have anxiety than healthcare workers.
K–12 educators are the most burned-out profession in the U.S.
The Nashville Public Education Foundation (NPEF) has a new leader.
From an email:
We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Diarese George to our team! After an extensive national search, Dr. George has been selected as NPEF’s new President and CEO and will be starting in his role on August 4. He is currently the founder and executive director of the Tennessee Educators of Color Alliance (TECA) and previously served in a variety of roles serving the education ecosystem in Nashville and Tennessee, including as the director of recruitment for the Nashville Teacher Residency and as a high school teacher in the Clarksville/Montgomery County school district. We are looking forward to how his expertise and collaborative spirit will help NPEF advance outcomes for Nashville’s students. You can learn more about Dr. Diarese George in our official announcement here.
Nashville Public Education Foundation names Dr. Diarese George next CEO
The Nashville Public Education Foundation (NPEF) announced that Dr. Diarese George will be the organization’s next President and CEO.
From a press release:
“From direct experience, including time as a teacher, Dr. George understands the challenges and opportunities in Nashville’s public education system,” said Ralph Davis, chair of the NPEF Board of Directors. “He brings passion and data-driven insight to his work and we are excited about what NPEF will accomplish under Dr. George’s leadership.”
“As a former teacher, nonprofit founder, and advocate, I know the power and exponential impact that great schools and great educators make in a student’s life,” said Dr. George. “I’m honored to lead NPEF into its next chapter and advance its strong legacy of building connections and partnerships that ensure every student in Nashville has the opportunity and access to succeed.”
Before leading TECA, Dr. George served as director of recruitment for the Nashville Teacher Residency, where he drove efforts to diversify the educator workforce by recruiting more people of color into the profession. Prior to that, he was a high school business teacher in the Clarksville/Montgomery County school district. Known for his deep networking and relationship-building skills, Dr. George has held several national and statewide fellowships, including Education Pioneers’ Summer Fellowship, the Tennessee State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) Educator Fellowship, Hope Street Group Teacher Fellowship, and the Mosaic Fellowship, which empowers education leaders of color across Tennessee. His passion for advancing education is further reflected in his service on statewide councils, boards, and committees.
From an email from Nashville Public Education Foundation (NPEF):
We are looking forward to the annual Public Schools Hall of Fame event on September 30, 2025, where we will honor outstanding educators, nonprofits, and leaders in our community. This year’s honorees represent exceptional dedication and expertise and have shown tremendous commitment to our public schools, students, teachers, and families. We invite you to visit our website to learn more about the event, meet the honorees, and save the date to join us.
On Tuesday, June 24, Old Dominion’s Matthew Ramsey presents a donation of $50,000 on behalf of The Ramsey Foundation to the “BAND TOGETHER” fundraiser to help save the concert band program at J.T. Moore Middle School in Nashville, TN.
On March 28, 2025, it was announced that J.T. Moore Middle School’s long-standing band program would be eliminated for the 2025–2026 school year. In response, a passionate group of parents launched the “BAND TOGETHER” campaign with the mission to save the school’s concert band program and keep music education alive. With generous support from Matthew Ramsey and The Ramsey Foundation, the campaign has raised over $65,000, enough to hire a part-time band director for the upcoming year. The campaign’s goal is to reach $92,000 by June 30 to fund a full-time band teacher and keep the music alive for all grades.
At EdCo, we’ve been reflecting on the end of this school year and celebrating the huge impact we were able to make due to our new Program Coordinator, Virginia Henry.
Thanks to her expertise and work ethic, our “EdCo in the Classroom” Programs were able to triple the delivery of in-class support to schools all over Nashville from Q3-Q4!
Looking forward, EdCo is excitedly preparing for our 11th Annual Summer Workshop.
We’ve been reviewing teacher-applications and selecting candidates for EdCo’s 11th Cohort. Summer Workshop is where they’ll come together for the first time as a class of our newest Members and learn how to use (and contribute to) EdCo’s mutual aid network.
We can’t wait to graduate them as official Members of our Educators’ Cooperative!
