February 2023 Volume 6 Issue 7

Rosetta Parks is first mentioned in the 1994-95 catalog as a counselor and instructor in the Academic Skills Department. She served in that position until her untimely death in 2000. When people described Rosetta, most used the word ‘patient’ at some point. Her ability to listen to students without judging or rushing them was something to behold, and I never watched her work with students without wanting to be like her.

In the mid-1980s, the Tennessee Board of Regents funded a program to support students who needed extra academic support at the beginning of their college careers. The Academic Development Department was founded with courses in math, reading, writing, and study skills. At that time, Nashville State was on the quarter system, and there were four levels of remediation. Students could test into any one of them. A few years later, as the college moved to semesters, the number of remedial courses was reduced to two: one remedial and one developmental.

When Rosetta arrived at Nashville State, another change to the department was taking place. The math and writing courses became part of the college-level departments in those areas. Reading, study skills, and counseling made up the renamed Academic Skills department.

Now, the old remedial/development courses are co-requisites to the college-level math and English classes. And the study skills course has morphed over the years into the current College Success class.

At this Year’s Annual DREAM conference, the community of Achieving The Dream colleges gathered to learn about and share strategies used to drive access, momentum, mobility, and community impact.

The keynote speakers were informative and inspirational, and the DREAM scholars shared poems that literally brought tears to my eyes.

The community of colleagues who attended this conference will be sharing what we learned and how we can apply the information to moving our community forward, with Vision 2030 and LEADS values underlying all that we do as a college.

The themes of diversity, equity, inclusion, and bridging gaps in education, opportunity, and upward mobility for marginalized groups of people could be seen throughout the presentations all week long. There were several things that had a great impact on me, but for now, I would like to stick with two ideas… Community and Creativity.

As a Community College – in a community of Community Colleges – when thinking about our programs, the students we serve, the community we live in, and the restraints (such as cost and law) within which we must work, it is becoming increasingly important to get creative in our thinking about the ways we can address, and begin to solve, the problems underlying the equity gap experienced by our students. We can tap into the resources of the ATD community and look to the people in our community of schools for ideas about how to move forward with a variety of problems.

I learned about ways to be mindful of diversity, equity, and inclusion within the legal constraints of being unable to freely speak about some subjects with all students- particularly dual enrollment students. I learned about creative ways to think about guided pathways that decrease student stress and confusion throughout the enrollment and registration process for the duration of their chosen course pathway. I learned about ways to get students personally invested in the creation of their course and materials while creating classroom communities of learners who develop communication, teamwork, and problem-solving skills that are directly applicable to their careers when they leave our doors. And I learned so much more.

I look forward to all the ATD presentations that we will see this semester, and I hope to see you there!

The wealth of information that is available to guide us in envisioning and realizing all the big goals of our institution and our leader, President Jackson, is amazing.  

And we can do it all, together, as a community.

However, a lot of the solutions will require creativity- thinking outside the boxes that have gotten all of education and society into the current state in which we find them.

Here are my first few thoughts on these first two Cs…   

Community

• Look at the student population we serve, i.e. our community. These are the people who experience the greatest negative consequences due to the current socioeconomic structure of our state and country.   
• In what ways can we, as a community in this community college, not only prepare our students for upward mobility but also allow them to use their skills to seek out worthy employment within this community?
• In an ever-rapidly globalizing economy, it is important to remain competitive in the world community while also honoring what makes our community unique. Fortunately for us, Nashville is unique for the diversity of people who call it home and we can look into the community, of our students and our stakeholders, to see an entire spectrum of differences possible in the world. We can use these brilliant differences to complement and assist each other, rather than causing division, and make the entire community a more unified, healthy, and happy place for everyone to be. We can model honoring the beauty and richness of every culture, while also seeing ourselves as one community of NSCC people working together to truly bridge the equity gap. We can light the way for our students, our community, and our country as we make Vision 2030 a reality. 

Creativity

• We need to get creative in our thoughts about increasing enrollment. This can be done while serving the community in many ways, including outreach to students who have dropped out of high school, rescuing them, targeting them to dual enrollment programs, and increasing program offerings to include courses that result in certificates, credentialling, and continued education credits as needed by employers within the community.
• We can creatively think about advising and guided course pathways that take much of the confusion and stress out of the enrollment and registration process for both the students and the advisors.
• We can get creative in our strategies to increase student buy-in and engagement both in class and in the larger campus community. Using resources such as work-study funding we may be able to create student mentoring/tutoring/teaching assistant opportunities that benefit both students and faculty.
• We can look to the community, and our stakeholders, and get creative in the ways we may form partnerships to service everyone for mutual benefit. We can work to increase partnerships with local businesses to provide pipelines for our students to move directly from our schools into internships or jobs in our community. But, perhaps, we can also try processes that can work the other way too… like creating partnerships that provide opportunities for the students moving through advanced degrees at the schools around us to gain real-world experience by helping to fill some needs for our students. Therapists, social workers, lawyers, and all sorts of people in training may be able to gain the necessary clinical/practical experience while also helping to serve the needs of our students.

In what ways can you see and use the community around you (us), and the creativity within you (us), to start to improve the student experience and help to bridge the equity gap? Can you get on the bus?    

Ultimately, what I saw in the schools that seem to be experiencing the greatest positive gains in student success and retention is a strong, vibrant community creatively using the resources around them to provide wrap-around support for all students. NSCC does a great job providing support in as many ways as we can, but there are still some gaps in things such as specific, skilled tutoring and mental health services like counseling and physical wellness that need to be filled.

I understand there is another C here… cost, but that may not have to be the dreadful thing it often seems to be and can be reevaluated through the lenses of community and creativity to arrive at some possible solutions. At the conference, I got a few ideas about this C too, but that is for a different discussion.

On behalf of the NSCC Foundation, I’m excited to announce that the Annual Tennessee Flavors tasting event has returned and will be held on Tuesday, May 16th at the White Bridge Road Campus. This year’s event will be held inside the S Building. From 6:00 -8:00 pm, some of Nashville’s top restaurants and drink artisans will join us on campus for a delicious evening in support of NSCC. All proceeds from this tasting event benefit the students of Nashville State.  

As in the past, each Nashville State employee may purchase 2 tickets at a discounted rate of $25 off. Tickets will be available March 1^st with special Early Bird pricing available while supplies last. The Early Bird Faculty and Staff price per ticket is $50 (regular staff price $75). 

Staff Early Bird pricing of $50 begins March 1^st and ends March 31^st and can be purchased here: www.tnflavors.org/tickets/

If you are interested in volunteering at Tennessee Flavors, please contact Ryan Parker in the Foundation office: ryan.parker@nscc.edu

Get your appetites ready—We look forward to seeing you on May 16th!

Ryanne is an adult student at Nashville State working toward an Associate of Science degree in Psychology. She graduated from a Williamson County high school almost a decade ago and never envisioned she could attain a higher education degree. As a member of a family with no college graduates, she entered the food service industry and never looked back.

After facing years of addiction, Ryanne found her sobriety and a passion for helping others who have faced similar issues in their lives. Knowing that she needed to start her academic journey at an affordable and small school where she wouldn’t feel lost in the shuffle, Ryanne enrolled at Nashville State. As a first-generation student, Ryanne felt alone and uncertain as she tried to navigate registering for classes, getting ready for her first semester, and imagining what being a college student would look and feel like.

Tennessee Reconnect is providing Ryanne with tuition assistance but leaves financial gaps for items like textbooks, school supplies, required technology, and transportation, among many others. After working with the Welcome Center and connecting with a Student Success Advisor, Ryanne applied for the Nashville Flex program. Thanks to this extra funding, Ryanne can work a little less and focus more on attending her classes and completing her coursework.

After building relationships with some compassionate faculty and her advisor, Ryanne has now completed three semesters successfully and has chosen to shift from being a part-time student to a full-time student this Spring semester. She has a 4.0 GPA and genuinely believes she will graduate from a four-year university and is excited about her future in a way she never was before. Ryanne epitomizes not only the unique struggles that our adult students face as they work toward their degrees, but also how a little extra support and empathy can make all the difference in their success.

Staff from the Nashville State Foundation attended and connected with hundreds of community leaders during the Urban League of Middle Tennessee’s annual Equal Opportunity Day luncheon at the Music City Center. Nashville State President Dr. Shanna L. Jackson was among a group of panelists who spoke about how communities can work together to address education, workforce development, small business growth, and healthcare. 

The month of January started with the repair and clean-up of the Southeast and the White Bridge Road campuses’ Christmas Eve pipe breaks which were completed prior to the start of the spring semester. See the January issue of the NSCC Voice for the photos of the clean-up and repair.

We are proud to say that of the current major projects, we will have COMPLETED 7 of the 12 by the end of February.

Here is the rundown of the NSCC Projects and their current status:

Clarksville:

• LED Lighting and Cameras upgrade – 99.9% COMPLETE
• Campus Expansion – IN DESIGN PHASE

Dickson:

• Classes started – 1-16-23 – COMPLETE

North Davidson:

• Last Hood Certified – Electrical Closing out – AIA Punch – 99.9% COMPLETE

Southeast:

• Building Refurbishment Project – Signage being scheduled – UNDERWAY
• New Chiller – ADJUSTED SCOPE – UNDER REVIEW

Waverly:

• Retrofits from the Flood – Labs Case Goods – 99.9% COMPLETE

White Bridge Road: 

• LED Lighting Retrofit – 99.9% COMPLETE
• H – Building Renovations – CONSTRUCTION DRAWINGS UNDERWAY
• Central Plant Upgrades – UNDERWAY
• Nursing Labs relocated – Open for classes 1-17-23 – COMPLETE
• Christmas Eve Floods – Clean up – COMPLETE