2005 Grant History
Nashville Alliance for Public Education
The mission of the Nashville Alliance for Public Education is to raise private support for public education to assist the Metropolitan Nashville Public School system in becoming a top performing school system in the nation, and to help our public schools improve and our public school students be successful.
The G-Unity Foundation gave a $25,000 grant for "AVID" (Advance via Individual Determination), a national program proved to increase learning and performance for students who have the ability to attend college. Kay Simmons stated, "Through hard work, determination and support of teachers this program gives underrepresented, minority and at-risk students an opportunity to overcome adversity and break the cycle of poverty by preparing for a college education. The AVID has had astonishing success rates in schools throughout the country. It has been in Nashville Schools for the past three years, but because of cuts in the budget, the program was dramatically cut this year. Funding this request would enable Nashville Schools to reinstate many portions of this program that were cut this year and thus enable this program to continue to make a difference for the lives of many students."
Testimonials
"It really helped me with preparing for college," said Terri Tidwell, a junior at Stratford High who went on college tours and prepared for the ACT college-readiness exam as part of the AVID class.
Stratford High senior James Winrow, 18, said the course helped him get organized in high school and become more focused and confident about going to college. He has been accepted by three colleges and hopes to decide where he wants to go in the coming weeks. "Being around people who have the same goals as me helped," he said. "You see how focused they are, and that makes you more focused because you don’t want to be the odd one out."
"For students with parents that know how to navigate through the college administration maze, they are okay. But for first time college attendees, without lots of support they are ‘left behind’ and thus our college attendance rate reflects our poverty rate, i.e. 65% of students on free/reduced lunch or 35% of students NOT on free/reduced lunch = 35% attending college. We are truly a school with unlimited potential, but limited resources. These resources are critical in changing this frightening statistic."
-Brenda Elliott, Principal, Stratford High School
"Parents don’t know like about ACT, my momma didn’t know nothing about it when I was a freshman and sophomore, she just found out this year (junior)…when they was growing up they didn’t have to take the ACT, so they can’t really help."
-Maplewood HS student
"If a student does not understand the importance of college, or perhaps believes that he or she cannot go, there is very little motivation to carefully plan classes or to plow through a very complicated application and financial aid process, especially trying to do so almost completely on their own. Why would a student be motivated to work hard to get A’s and B’s? If his friend completely slacks and gets D’s, they end up with the same high school diploma. If neither goes on to college, they also have the same limited opportunities. They will both be fighting for the same low-wage jobs."
-Anderson Williams, OCI Director
"Without going to college you limit yourself, your family, as well as your community. IN today’s society getting a high school diploma isn’t going to get you very far. To change East Nashville and to stop crime and bring people out of poverty, we have to raise awareness and opportunity in the community about the importance of higher education. You need that piece of paper!"
-Lakishia Harris, Youth Mobilizer
"AVID has helped me keep my grades up and my head up. It has also helped me to realize the big things I have ahead of me, and learn who I am."
-Chelsea Foster ‘08
"AVID has taught me how to better organize myself and be better prepared for my future in college. AVID has also given me hope about getting into the college that I want because of the scholarship opportunities. Without AVID, I would not know how to be a successful student."
-Ajanee Evans ‘07
"I learned a lot from AVID this year. It kept me focused about school and also helped me stay organized. When they wanted me to be in AVID, I really felt good about myself, and it made me want to work harder even more. I want to thank AVID for the changes it made in me."
-Travis Turner ‘08
"While enrolling in courses for my sophomore year of high school, I was blessed to be recommended for the AVID program. I am currently in this program under the facilitation of Mrs. Priscilla Marable. This program has exposed me to different levels of critical thinking, organizational skills, academic tutoring, better studying methods, and help with the college process such as preparing for different entrance tests, applying for scholarships and other financial aid and other tools that are necessary to my college-prep education. I am also afforded the opportunity to visit different universities both in Nashville and outside of town. Last year, I visited Middle Tennessee State University with my AVID class, and now, I hope to attend that school after I graduate. I also receive additional help from my guidance counselor due to the fact that I am an AVID student. This is the kind of benefit AVID offers that is not part of our standard curriculum. It’s like Mrs. Marable said in an interview: ‘I make sure that MY students are taken care of…that’s all I can do.’ In other words, we know she is looking out for us and is going to make sure we get what we need to get to college."
"Unfortunately, since I have been enrolled in this outstanding program, I have also seen how some of my friends that are not in the program are neglected in some ways. Many of them are not educated about, and not supported in, the college application process. They don’t have an AVID teacher looking out for them. Because of this, many have just pushed the dream of college out of their mind. It’s sad to hear some of my friends say that they cannot go to college. When asked why, some say that they cannot afford it; some say they are not smart enough; some say they do not know exactly what to do to get there; some just plainly say that they are scared. This bothers me so much especially when at one point in time, I felt the same way. Thankfully, I was saved from this situation. Once I received the information and support that I needed, I understood that the "dream" of college could be a reality for me. Now, I feel obligated to pass on this knowledge that I have to others so that I may help change the odds for them."
-Bethany Paschall, Maplewood HS
