PENCIL Partners are Nashville-area businesses, organizations, and faith communities that partner with a Nashville public school.  PENCIL Partners volunteer time and other resources to help children achieve academically, develop life skills, and make a successful transition from school to career.

There are 675 PENCIL partnerships in Davidson County that serve more than 74,000 children in Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools (MNPS).  PENCIL Partners include Nashville’s largest employers as well as small businesses, professional and neighborhood groups, retailers, faith communities, and university student organizations.

PENCIL staff works with interested businesses to find the right school, based on proximity and how the organization would like to be involved. Each partnership has both a community and school coordinator, who work together to determine partnership activities for the year. Coordinators are instrumental in insuring partnership effectiveness.  Coordinators are given a Partnership Coordinator's Manual to guide them in establishing and maintaining their community-school partnerships.

Whether your business is large or small, there are a variety of ways to get involved! Here are some of the ways PENCIL Partners assist their schools:

• Provide classroom readers
• Provide reading or math tutors
• Provide support for arts or music
• Provide space for school meetings
• Donate school supplies
• Organize recognition events for students and/or faculty
• Assist with transportation for field trips
• Provide technical support for computers
• Provide internships
• Assist with landscaping or playground construction

CLICK HERE for more partnership activities!

If your organization would like to be paired with an MNPS school during the 2010-2011 school year, click here to fill out a partnership application and fax back to Nikki Troutman, 254-6748. If you would like more information on volunteer opportunities with PENCIL, please contact us today at 242-3167 x 231. All of our schools need additional support from community organizations! 

Learn more about individual Nashville public schools visit the MNPS website.

Metro Nashville high schools are in transition. New and exciting opportunities are available to students with the creation of thematic Career Academies. There is a tremendous need for business engagement in our high schools, as students choose a pathway and begin to explore careers and get hands-on training in specific career fields. Business expertise is need to help shape the academies and provide additional opportunities to students.

If your business would like to partner with a high school career academy, please fill out the Academy Partnership Form.