Statements

Mission

PENCIL's mission is linking community resources to Nashville public schools to help young people achieve academic success and prepare for life. We envision a world where access and opportunities are equitable for all students to have a successful future. While PENCIL programs serve all Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) students, they are of particular benefit to students who lack the financial means and schools that lack the community resources.
PENCIL is unique among local educational nonprofits and related entities in that it is the only organization specifically dedicated to linking the time, talent, and resources of the business community to our public schools.

Background

Founded in 1982, PENCIL (Public Education Needs Community Involvement & Leadership) is the boots-on-the-ground resource recruiter for Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS). After 40 years of service, our work remains guided by the district's needs, is student-centric, and is achieved through community partnerships and tangible engagements. Existing inequities surrounding how schools have been funded leave some schools and students with greater need for community inputs than others, from in-demand supplies to more personal engagement with mentors and meaningful workforce development. PENCIL's core programs work to fill that resource gap.

PENCIL addresses the inequitable access to resources (community volunteers, funding for special projects) among Nashville schools through a collective impact model that harnesses the time, treasure, and talent of our business community in support of individual schools. These connections - known as PENCIL Partnerships - aid in the development of positive school cultures, show teacher appreciation, recruit caring adult role models for students, provide knowledge about and exposure to workforce opportunities, and nurture an overall deeper sense of community between public schools and local businesses.

PENCIL works closely with MNPS leaders to develop and execute the initiatives and programs that they determine necessary for student success. One of our core programs, PENCIL Partners provides an extraordinary opportunity for high school students in the 35 Career Academies on the Academies of Nashville. These programs support academic growth and workforce development growth for students in measurable ways. PENCIL is seen as a national leader in the field of business engagement in high schools with our work to support the Academies and are regularly hired as a consultant to communities implementing this model, which relies heavily on business partners providing experiential learning opportunities to students.

Impact

Since 1982, PENCIL has been connecting the community to our schools and students. We have always worked closely with MNPS leaders to develop and execute the initiatives and programs that they determine necessary for student success. Our school-based programs and delivery of services continually evolve to meet the district's priorities as they evolve and to align with the strategic goals and initiatives of MNPS. The district relies on PENCIL for access to and management of community resources, including in-demand school supplies, and a high volume of talented and passionate volunteers, who meaningfully engage with students and provide mentorship and real world career exposure.

In FY24, PENCIL's community investment totaled more than $8.78 million, which includes $2.76 million in grants to/for MNPS and more than 27,000 volunteer service hours, in support of almost 82,000 students in 159 MNPS schools.
PENCIL Partners recruited and engaged 815 Partnerships that supported school staff and impacted student success. In the Academies of Nashville high schools, PENCIL Partners provided career-focused learning opportunities through 10th-grade industry tours (5,103 students served) 11th-grade job shadows (2,648 students served), and 12th-grade Work-Based Learning placements (155 students served).

The DG PENCIL Box, our free teacher resource center, distributed $2.91 million in product to MNPS educators through in-store shopping visits, giveaways, to-school deliveries, signature events Together 4 Teachers and Thanks A Million, as well as distributions through MNPS and its Homeless Education Resource Office.

PENCIL's LP STEAM Lending Library, a program of the PENCIL Box, brought hands-on learning and curriculum-aligned STEAM resources to 7,033 students in 29 MNPS schools, which exceeded our goal of 5,000 students served.

PENCIL continued to facilitate the TN Department of Education Connected Literacy grant, which provides high-impact literacy tutoring for MNPS students in grades 1-3. We have served 5,087 students with high-impact tutoring, surpassing the grant goal of 3,500. We are pleased to report that the grant has been renewed for the 2024-25 school year.

This year, PENCIL's goals include recruiting and sustaining successful school-community partnerships, growing our free school supply initiative, and providing literacy support for our youngest learners, all with the ultimate result of increasing student achievement.

Needs

All of PENCIL's needs are directly related to the programs and services we deliver to address the needs of students in Metro Nashville Public Schools. With many MNPS families facing economic challenges, we greatly appreciate donations to our DG PENCIL Box where teachers shop throughout the year for free materials like pencils, paper, crayons, notebooks, and backpacks. We welcome volunteers in the Box to sort donations, stock shelves, and more. We always invite more Nashville businesses, organizations and faith communities to provide resources to individual schools by becoming PENCIL Partners. Partners can contribute to student success by serving as career mentors, guest speakers, or job shadow and industry tour hosts. We are particularly excited about creating new Partnerships within the vibrant and diverse local businesses that reflect the MNPS student population, particularly students whose first language is not English. In short, we need the Nashville community to join us because public education is everybody's business.

CEO Statement

As an MNPS graduate, former teacher, and current parent, I have a very strong passion for and commitment to the students of Metro Nashville Public Schools. I know that PENCIL makes a difference in the lives of MNPS students, families, and teachers every day. I have witnessed it, admired it, and played a part in it during my time with MNPS. Today, I have the honor and duty of leading PENCIL to assure our students have equitable access to resources and opportunities, as this organization has done for more than 40 years.

PENCIL will continue listening to and collaborating with the community to further support Nashville's diverse, motivated, and capable students. We will provide free school supplies so that teachers are prepared to teach and students are ready to learn. We will engage volunteers to bring curriculum and career options to life for students that open their eyes to worlds they never imagined. We will tell students' compelling stories so that we can recruit more business partners to interact with them in ways that positively impact their academic performance and their success in life. You can join us in supporting our public schools by visiting us at PENCIL4Schools.org where you can sign up to offer students and teachers your time talent and treasure.

Board Chair Statement

As Chair of the Board of Directors for the PENCIL, I believe that "public education is everyone's business," and PENCIL is living that motto every day in Metro Nashville Public Schools. High school students are better engaged in the classroom and local businesses are seeing more graduates skilled and eager to work in their fields because of robust Academy PENCIL Partnerships. Fewer children are experiencing barriers to learning because their teachers are able to shop at the DG PENCIL Box for free school supplies that support creativity and curiosity. PENCIL Partners, volunteers, and donors are making tremendous investments in our public schools and seeing a positive return on those investments. Please join our movement to prepare Nashville youth for academic and life success through the work of PENCIL.

Service Categories
Primary Category:	Education  - Elementary & Secondary Schools
Secondary Category:	Community Improvement, Capacity Building  - Community Improvement, Capacity Building N.E.C.
Tertiary Category:	Youth Development  - Youth Development Programs

Areas Served

PENCIL serves 81,000+ students in 159 Metro Nashville Public Schools in Davidson County, Tennessee.

TN - Davidson