Handbook - Family Resources

Contact Us | Staying Connected | Getting Involved | Family Assistance | Safe Storage for Firearms

 

Contact Us


Call or Email

For information, questions, comments and suggestions, contact our Family Information Center by calling 615-259-4636(INFO) or emailing the Family Information Center. Our Family Information Center telephone service hours are 5:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday during regular school days and 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on school-closing holidays and summer break.

 

Visit the Family Information Center

Visit the Family Information Center in person at 2601 Bransford Avenue, Nashville, Tennessee 37204. Use the Berry Road entrance at the back of the building. The Family Information Center office hours are are 7:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday during regular school days. 

 

Staying Connected with MNPS

 

Callout & Texting Systems

  • MNPS uses a mass notification callout system, Blackboard, to share important news and information with families. Our callout system also includes the option to receive emails and text messages. 

  • If you are not receiving calls, make sure your contact information is up-to-date. Follow the instructions on our Campus Parent page. If you need more assistance, contact your student's school.

  • Our schools may also use Remind, a school communication platform that lets teachers and schools administrators connect with families in their preferred language. Learn more about how you can use this communication tool to connect with your child's teacher on the Remind webpage.

Campus for Parents

  • Campus Parent is a web-based tool (online and mobile-devices) that helps families stay connected to their student's classroom. It lets families see real-time grades, homework, upcoming due dates, attendance information, discipline information and more and allows for greater communication between teachers and families through emails, messages and mobile alerts.

Social Media




Getting Involved

Family involvement and volunteers are an integral part of education. We welcome families and volunteers in our schools and appreciate the opportunities their work provides to our students and staff. 


Parent Advisory Council

The Parent Advisory Council (PAC) was created to energize, organize and mobilize parents to be involved in the lifelong education of their students, and help identify barriers to family engagement and work with MNPS' personnel to reduce or remove these barriers. To get involved, contact your school's principal.


Exceptional Education Family Advisory Council

The Exceptional Education Family Advisory Council (EEFAC) was created by families of students with disabilities. Any parent of a student who receives special education services is eligible to be a member of EEFAC. Email the Exceptional Education staff to get involved. 




Family Assistance

Family Support


Community Achieves & Department of Education Family Resource Centers

Community Achieves is an MNPS-led community school initiative. In community schools, students and families have access to a broad range of services including food and clothing, academic enrichment, and adult education through partnerships with health and social service providers, businesses and faith-based organizations. Services and resources are tailored to the specific needs of the school community. Some Community Achieves schools have Family Resource Centers (FRC), which work with schools to connect families and students to community services and the needs of the neighborhood.

 

Community Helpline

One of the easiest ways to get help is to contact Tennessee's community services helpline by dialing 2-1-1. When you call, you'll get a real person, one who is trained to help you sort out your needs, and then give you phone numbers and addresses of the closest places where you can get help.

 

Extended Learning Programs

The Office of Extended Learning Programs provides direct and indirect support of Before and After Care and summer programs. The Office of Extended Learning Programs is funded, in part, under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, Title IV-B: 21st Century Community Learning Centers and Lottery for Education in Afterschool Programs grants. 

In the event of inclement weather, program hours may be delayed or canceled. Inclement Weather Schedules.

 

Limitless Libraries

Limitless Libraries is a partnership between Metro Nashville Public Schools and the Nashville Public Library supported by the Office of the Mayor. Its goal is to improve and enhance school libraries and ease access to public library resources. MNPS students in grades K-12 may borrow items from the public library and have them delivered to their school. They may also return public library items to the school library.

Primary (Elementary School) students can only request items from the Nashville Public Library’s juvenile collection while inside their school building. When searching from home, it is recommended that students log in to their accounts first and select their school from the dropdown menu to limit their search to the juvenile collection.

Secondary (Middle and High School) students have access to the full catalog and will follow the circulation policies set by the Nashville Public Library.

For all MNPS students, the student ID number serves as the student’s library card at both the public library and school libraries. All lost and damaged items will be billed at the regular library rates and must be reimbursed to the Nashville Public Library.

Students are automatically opted in to receive Limitless Libraries services if available at their school. Families have the option to link their Nashville Public Library card to their student's public library account. Parents/guardians who do not want their student to access library materials through Limitless Libraries, can request the Limitless Libraries Opt-Out form from the student's school librarian.

 

School Psychologists

School psychologists provide support to every MNPS school and are committed to providing systems and structure, data-based decision making, and individualized support to each student. School psychologists support students by ensuring equitable access and increasingly intensive intervention in the area of academics and behavior and supports schools by using data to help determine each student's need. 

 

School Social Work Services

School social work services exist in every MNPS school. Sometimes there are personal issues that interfere with a student's learning. School social workers will provide free counseling to students during the school day on-site at their school. All records regarding a student's sessions with the school social worker are kept confidential except as required by law.

MNPS utilizes a Collaborative Referral protocol to connect students with school-based providers for needed support. To make a referral for Social Work or School Counselor Services, please notify the school counselor at the child's assigned school. Please note MNPS School Social Workers are no way affiliated with the Department of Children Services (DCS). School social workers are not case managers for DCS. Both are separate entities with very different services that each provides.

 

StrIDe Transportation Program

All MNPS students enrolled in grades 9-12 are able to ride WeGo Public Transit buses at no cost through an innovative public transportation program called StrIDe. Students in grades 5-8 who attend an out-of-zone school where they have no yellow bus service are eligible to participate in the StrIDe program with parental permission.  

Students utilizing this service must follow the WeGo Code of Conduct or face revocation of WeGo bus transportation privileges. The Code of Conduct is posted at Music City Central and online at WeGo Public Transit.

For more information about bus routes or schedules, call WeGo Customer Care at 615-862-5950.

 

The HERO Program for Families and Students in Transition

The HERO program provides resources and support to students and families who do not have stable housing of their own and qualify as experiencing homelessness under the federal McKinney-Vento Act. HERO paperwork may be obtained from the district's enrollment centers, schools or you may contact the program office directly by calling 615-259-8729.

 

Safe Storage for Firearms

Guns are not permitted in MNPS schools, except for those carried by law enforcement. 

We all can play a part in firearms safety. Here are a few tips for keeping firearms safely secured and away from children: 

  1. Keep guns out of the reach and out of sight of children by storing them securely. Leaving guns unsecured – on a nightstand, table, or other place where a child can gain access – can lead to injuries and fatalities.

  2. Store guns unloaded and secured with effective, child-resistant gun locks in a locked container out of the reach and sight of children.

  3. Store ammunition in a separate locked container out of the reach and sight of children.

  4. Use combination locks and safes, or safes that use fingerprint recognition locks. Keep the combinations carefully hidden.

  5. When a gun is not being stored, keep it in your immediate possession and control at all times. Otherwise, store the gun unloaded, locked and separate from ammunition.

  6. If you carry a gun in your car, make sure to outfit your vehicle with a lockable container so you can securely store the gun when you exit the vehicle.

  7. If a visitor has a gun in a backpack, briefcase, handbag or an unlocked car, provide them with a place to store it securely (locked, unloaded, and separate from ammunition) while they are in your home.

  8. If a family member or loved one is in crisis and may be a risk to themselves or others, consider temporarily removing firearms from your home. Such crises can involve people who are depressed, suicidal, or abusing drugs or alcohol.

Talking to your kids and their caregivers about firearm safety is also important. Here are a few tips: 

  1. Explain to your kids how a gun they see on television or a video game is different from a gun in real life. “A gun, in real life, can really hurt people.”

  2. Teach kids that if they see or find a gun to immediately tell an adult about it. Urge them not to touch it.

  3. Talking to children about gun safety is important, but it is not a substitute for storing guns securely.

  4. Talk to the grandparents and parents of your children’s friends about guns in the home and how to safely store and secure them.

Disposing of firearms you no longer need or those no longer in use is another important element of firearm safety: 

  1. If you decide you no longer need a gun in your home, dispose of it in a safe way. 

  2. Consult with local law enforcement on the best way to dispose of firearms. 

Other kinds of "firearms" can also be dangerous: 

  1. Apply similar care to non-powder and air-soft guns, including BB guns, paintball guns and pellet guns. 

  2. Used improperly, these guns can cause serious injuries, particularly to the head, neck abdomen or eyes.