Vanderbilt, Metro Nashville Public Schools launch research partnership focused on educational inequities

Vanderbilt University and Metro Nashville Public Schools are launching a research partnership to study and address racial and social inequities in the city's pre-K to 12 schools.

Officially housed within Vanderbilt's Peabody College of Education and Human Development, the new partnership, Nashville Partnership for Educational Equity Research, will help the district "ask the big questions," board member Gini Pupo-Walker said during a Metro Schools board meeting Tuesday night.

"I think this will be a game changer for us to ask the hard questions and then find the answers together," she said.

The Tennessee Education Research Alliance:Vanderbilt researchers to put mark on state education department policies

Peabody College already houses the Tennessee Education Research Alliance, a similar research alliance launched in 2016 in partnership with the Tennessee Department of Education. The alliance, produces the annual Tennessee Educator Survey and has given Vanderbilt and national researchers a chance to put an unprecedented stamp on education policy and practices statewide.

Now, university and district officials hope to create a similar model to address educational inequities experienced by students in Metro Schools.

“The roots of educational inequities in our city are complex and multi-faceted and these enduring challenges have only been compounded by COVID-19, and our city’s recent growth," said Vanderbilt Chancellor Daniel Diermeier Tuesday. "These are issues that defy easy answers. But together, we can start to address them through rigorous research and collaboration. Drawing on data and history, we can find new ways to improve access and belonging and to reduce disparities in educational outcomes." 

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Nashville Public Education Foundation President and CEO Katie Cour will also help facilitate the partnership and the work of the PEER steering committee. 

The partnership's steering committee members will include:

• Adrienne Battle, director of Metro Schools
• Camilla Benbow, dean of Peabody College
• Paul Changas, executive officer of research, assessment and evaluation for Metro Schools
• Ellen Goldring, executive associate dean of Peabody College
• Jason Grissom, Peabody College's Patricia and Rodes Hart Chair and professor of leadership, policy and organizations
• Ashford Hughes Sr., executive officer for equity, diversity and inclusion for Metro Schools
• Maury Nation, Peabody College's Bob Innes Chair and professor of human and organizational development
• Keri Randolph, chief strategy officer for Metro Schools
• Marcy Singer-Gabella, PEER Faculty Director and professor of the practice of education at Peabody College 

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Meghan Mangrum covers education for the USA TODAY Network — Tennessee. Contact her at mmangrum@tennessean.com. Follow her on Twitter @memangrum.