About Alignment Nashville

Alignment Nashville (AN) is a unique and scalable framework for developing community schools. The mission is to bring community organizations and resources into alignment so that their coordinated support of Nashville’s youth has a positive impact on public school success, children’s health, and the success of our community as a whole.

In the past, over 175 nonprofit organizations worked in the schools and community individually, without direction or coordination. While each organization provided much-needed services, the problems facing public education and our children are far too complex for any single organization to address in isolation.

Alignment Nashville has developed processes for collaboration that align the resources of these organizations to the Metro Nashville Public Schools strategic plan and to community strategic plans, aligning the city’s resources toward common goals.

AN was developed to ensure all the services children need are provided to them in an effective and efficient way that complements their education, health and well-being, and the goals of the public schools. Through community-wide collaboration among schools, non-profits, businesses, and the public sector, AN creates the synergy necessary for sustained improvement in public education and children’s health. This collaboration provides the following advantages:

  • Greater returns on investment- by working together toward common goals, resources are leveraged, duplication is avoided, and efficiency is greatly increased.

  • Higher quality services – utilizing expertise from multiple organizations guarantees a broader perspective and a wiser approach.

  • Enhanced capacity – very few organizations have the capacity to have community-wide impact. A collective effort enhances the impact of each of organization, while generating a much greater overall impact.

  • Leverage of local funding – AN programs have demonstrated they can attract large national funding,
    increasing the impact of the local funding that played a role in building the pilot programs.

    • “Alignment Nashville is a vital and effective link in our efforts to ensure success for all children in Nashville. I fully support the work of Alignment and appreciate the valuable contribution the organization makes to improving education and children’s health in Nashville. I encourage all community organizations to consider participation in the collaborative initiatives of Alignment Nashville.” — The Honorable Karl F. Dean, Mayor, Metropolitan Nashville and Davidson County

    History

    Alignment Nashville started as the result of a study conducted by the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce. A consulting firm, Vision Link, was hired in 2002 to evaluate the need for and capacity of the city’s many organizations and institutions to work collaboratively to improve the education and lives of the city’s children and the future prospects of our community. Vision Link interviewed more than 80 Nashville leaders and convened a representative group several times in the course of this study.

    As a result, more than 100 people engaged in the organization and planning of Alignment Nashville. A board of directors composed of city leaders was created to provide oversight and an Operating Board, consisting of Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) administrators and community organization executives, was formed to develop the direction and processes for the working committees.

    Financing

    Alignment Nashville is grateful to the following organizations for financial support of its operations and committee initiatives in 2009:

    America’s Promise Alliance
    Amerigroup
    AmeriChoice
    Belmont University
    Healthways Foundation
    HCA Foundation
    Ingram Charitable Fund
    The Mayor’s Office and Metro Nashville Government
    Meharry Medical School and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
    Meharry / Vanderbilt Community Engaged Research Program
    Metro Nashville Public Schools
    Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce
    Nashville State Community College Foundation
    National Science Foundation
    State Farm Insurance
    United Way of Metropolitan Nashville
    U.S. Department of Education
    Vanderbilt University
    Volunteer State Community College Foundation