School Characteristics:

Jones Paideia Magnet School is a thematic magnet school that receives students from all over Davidson County. Our theme is Paideia. While Jones has operated as a Paideia school for the last thirteen years, four years ago the Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools District decided to revamp their current Paideia schools and open a brand-new Paideia middle school. In keeping with this restructuring, Jones changed from a K-8 school formerly known as Buena Vista-Jones Paideia to a K-4 program called Jones Paideia. Due to the many changes of faculty and staff throughout the years, the school district contracted with the National Paideia Center for faculty training. We began training during the 2002-2003 school year and trained on one Paideia Component each year, beginning with Seminar. All formal training was completed during the 2004-2005 school year. This year we have focused on the implementation of all Paideia components with continued monitoring and training through technical site visits from the National Paideia faculty.

Currently, Jones Paideia serves approximately 330 students in grades kindergarten through four. The school was constructed in 1936 and stands on the corner of Garfield and Ninth Avenue, North in a, primarily inter-city, residential neighborhood. This facility is closed for the 2005-2006 school year while being renovated and additional classrooms, library, playroom and offices are constructed. In the wake of renovation and construction, Jones Paideia has moved to the “old” Brick Church Middle School campus, located at 3230 Brick Church Pike in Nashville, as a temporary location.

School Information: Faculty/Staff Characteristics:

Serves students in grades K – 4                                                 Administrator………………........1
46.1% Indigent Student-body                                                       Kindergarten teachers………...4
Students attend school…180 days                                            1^st grade teachers……………...3
Hours of operation….7:45 am – 2:45 pm                                 2^nd grade teachers……………..4
Doors open at ……….7:25 am                                                   3^rd grade teachers…………...…3
Students picked up by 3:00 pm                                                  4^th grade teachers…………...…3
YMCA Fun Company provides before/after care                     Art Teacher……………….....……1
Hours: 630 am – 6:00 pm                                                           Music Teacher…………………...1
Tutoring available in Fun Co.                                                      Spanish Teacher…………….….1
After Hours Activities:                                                                    Physical Education Teacher…...2
Community Education Program                                                Guidance Counselor…………...1
Computers for Kids                                                                      Reading Specialist……………..1
After School Enrichment Program                                             Media Specialist……………….1
   For K-2 students (2-10 wk sessions)                                    Secretarial Staff………………..1
3^rd Grade Reading and Math Tutoring                                      Educational Assistants……....1.5
   Based upon proficiency levels                                                Custodial Staff………………...3
                                                                                                         Cafeteria Staff……………… 2.5
                                                                                                         Itinerant Staff (Psychologist,
                                                                                                         Social Worker, Encore Teacher, Speech/Lang.

Ethnicity Percentages of Student-body Ethnicity of Faculty

African American………93.6%                                                               African American………….28%
Caucasian………………..4.0%                                                                Caucasian…………………..68%Hispanic………………… .9%                                                                   Hispanic……………………..4%Asian…………………….1.5%

Student Data:

Percentages by Gender of Student-Body

Enrollment

Enrollment Data

Percentage by Gender of Faculty

                
                                            Total     Enrollment = 326

Curriculum Offerings:

Students in kindergarten through fourth grades are engaged daily in the school board adopted curriculum based on newly written standards in reading, writing, math, science, social studies, and visual and performing arts. At Jones, Spanish is taught to all students grades K – 4. In addition, students attend related arts classes in art, music and physical education. Teachers utilize the state framework of objectives, as well as the Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools Graduate and 12-Pre K Academic Standards when planning instruction for all subject areas. In addition to the curriculum, teachers incorporate hands-on-science, science and technology kits, math manipulatives, character education and balanced literacy. The curriculum is delivered through the Paideia philosophy of instruction. One remedial class for fourth grade students performing below the 430^th scaled score in reading, called Language Exclamation, is implemented at that level. The hope is to have students reading at or above grade level after two-years in the program. Currently, we have 18 students who qualify for this program. In order to serve the special education needs of students in our building who receive services, we use an inclusion program. Currently, 6.0% of our total student population is eligible for special education services.

Parental Support:

Parents are invited into our school each and every day of the year. As part of the Paideia program, parents are asked to spend eighteen (18) hours per child, per year volunteering for the school. Volunteer hours may be earned in a variety of ways from accompanying a classroom on a field trip, working in individual classrooms or other areas of the school, tutoring students, reading to students in groups or individually, serving on committees, taking home work to cut and paste for teachers and/or by baking goodies for upcoming events. Last year Jones parents volunteered a total of 3,485 hours for this school, which equates to an approximate average of 10.3 hours per family for the year. This year we have a Volunteer Coordinator as a PTO Board position. Our Volunteer Coordinator has planned and implemented a Volunteer Orientation Night for parents in order to help them learn first-hand about the operation of the school, copy machines, laminator and other equipment. In addition, special evening sessions are planned to host volunteer activities in order to provide opportunities for the working parent to be involved in school.

Unique Programs:

We have been identified as a pilot school for Alignment Nashville’s Character Education for the 2005-2006 school year. In keeping with this emphasis on character education, all of our students participate in the “I AM SOMEBODY” program, sponsored by Mr. Don McGehee and a host of individual and corporate sponsors. This program supplements the character education training and focuses on the following nine components: academics, altruism, athletics, attitude, character, creativity, perseverance, music and art. Mr. McGehee is a dedicated volunteer who visits our school on a weekly basis and strives to help every child achieve their personal best.

In addition to the above program, we offer a wide-range of after-school opportunities for boys and girls. Beginning with the 2005-2006 school year our school was identified as a Title I school based upon the percentage of indigent students for the 2004-2005 school year (56.0%). Our school community decided to have a school-wide emphasis for Title I; therefore, our Title I coordinating teacher will be going into classrooms to assist teachers with instruction. After reviewing data, the Title I coordinating teacher will work specifically on reading and math as indicated by our latest data from TCAP and District Assessments.

Currently, Jones Paideia holds tutoring classes (offered free of charge to 3^rd and 4^th grade students) in reading and math twice per week. In addition, Academic Enrichment classes for students performing at least one year ahead of their peers is held for students in grades K- 2. In order to serve as many children as possible in the after-school intervention program, we hold two consecutive ten-week sessions. The PENCIL FOUNDATION has provided three “Partners in Reading” volunteers to work with the early education children in order to foster reading skills. In addition, three graduate students from MeHarry Medical College tutor and mentor male students in 3^rd grade throughout the year.

COMMUNITY CHARACTERISTICS:

The community which surrounds Jones Paideia Magnet School is not necessarily representative of its student population. Jones faculty and staff serve students from twenty (20) out of the forty-nine (49) zip-code areas associated with Davidson County. The residential neighborhood where the school is located is primarily an African American, middle to low income community. A business district lies about one-half mile north-east of the school and supports both large and small businesses. Directly to the east lies a major road with many small businesses and directly to the north lies a mix of neighborhoods from large farms with high-end homes to modest homes to lower income homes, all within a purely residential neighborhood.

The Jones Paideia learning community, which encompasses parents and other family members of the student population, is made-up of a wide-range of socio economic levels. Families include, attorneys, educators, college professors, engineers, state department directors, a vice-mayor, pastors of churches, entrepreneurs, home-makers, nurses as well as those who do not have a college education and some that do not have a high school education.