Transition of MLK Magnet to 9-12 Structure
History of the MLK and Head Magnet Pathway
Academic magnets were created by Metro Nashville Public Schools in an effort to bring diverse groups of students from across the city together in high-quality learning environments as they prepare for college and career opportunities. Head Magnet Middle has been the primary pathway to Martin Luther King Jr. Academic Magnet, which has been unique in offering both middle and high school grades.
Metro Nashville Public Schools launched the Metro Schools ReimaginED initiative in 2020. A key feature of this initiative was moving 5th grade from middle schools to elementary schools, something that had been long requested by parents and aligns with curriculum standards and national best practices.
This was phased in over four school years to allow time to make reconfigurations for elementary schools with capacity issues and to ensure a more seamless transition. The final phase is set to occur in the 2024-25 school year, which will include all magnet (optional) middle schools.
This created both a challenge and an opportunity for two schools in particular, Head Magnet Middle and MLK Academic Magnet, which has had a unique structure in the district.
Timeline for Transition
- Head Magnet will transition to the 6 to 8 grade model along with all other magnet middle schools in the 2024-25 school year.
- Through the 2025-26 school year, MNPS will work with stakeholders at both schools to plan for the transition of Head Magnet to MLK at Head (MLK @ Head), building a stronger partnership between the two and developing programs and courses at MLK at Head that students traditionally received through 7th and 8th grade at MLK.
- In 2026-27, MLK will transition to an 8-12 model, increasing grade-level enrollment capacity to offer more seats to students across the district. MLK at Head’s enrollment in 7th grade will increase, allowing for the addition of advanced academic course offerings similar to MLK’s 7th grade.
- In 2027-28, the MLK transition to a 9-12 model in alignment with other high schools will be complete, resulting in higher grade-level capacity in each grade and allowing for more students to apply to attend the school. MLK at Head will increase enrollment in 8th grade, allowing for the addition of advanced academic course offerings similar to MLK’s 8th grade.
World Languages
One of the unique features of MLK is their world languages program, which includes Latin, French, German, Spanish, and Mandarin. Students in grades 7 and 8 generally take separate courses from those in grades 9 to 12. It is one of the primary goals of the MLK at Head transition program to continue offering courses like this in the middle school grades.
As in some other schools around the district that share specialty teachers, a teacher can travel the short distance between Head and MLK to teach those courses. The specific logistical needs, including scheduling, are among the many programmatic aspects we intend to further study and explore with stakeholders in the coming years before this transition, which is why we provided an extended timeline to phase in this structure.
Honors and Advanced Academic Courses
Head Magnet School already offers honors classes and Gifted and Talented courses, though primarily at the 6th grade level. One of the challenges with the current structure is that many of those students who qualify for these courses leave in the 7th grade to attend MLK. Under the MLK @ Head transition, students will continue to have these types of course offerings that are available currently at MLK, but offering them at the middle school will allow even more students who may qualify but have not enrolled at MLK to be able to take those courses along with their peers.
As the transition of MLK to a 9-12 model progresses, there will be additional capacity for honors and advanced academic offerings at MLK at Head that will be comparable to those at Meigs Academic Magnet.
MNPS is also committed to maintaining the academic rigor at MLK, which is known as one of the best high schools in Tennessee – and will be available to more students from across Nashville and Davidson County as a result of this transition.
Visual and Performing Arts
Head Middle Magnet currently offers the same VAPA courses (Visual Arts, Musical Theatre, Strings, Band) that are offered at MLK to 7th and 8th graders. During this transition, that will remain the same but with the goal of strengthening the partnership between the two schools to offer a more seamless transition from middle school to high school.
Enrollment at MLK
Currently, MLK Magnet has more students in grades 9 to 12 than the other academic magnet high school, Hume-Fogg. Combined, there is typically a waiting list for 9th grade (the point of entry for most students) between the two schools. Hume-Fogg’s campus does not allow for any expansion, whereas MLK does have space to expand their high school program.
Meanwhile, with the transition of middle schools to the 6-8 model, there is capacity to expand the middle school grade-level capacity at Head Magnet Middle, which was created 25 years ago as the primary pathway to MLK Magnet.
At the conclusion of this transition, there will be more seats and more advanced academic course offerings available to students in Metro Nashville Public Schools.
Staffing
MLK’s current seventh grade and eighth grade teachers will continue to be able to teach in MNPS middle schools after the transition, and some may plan to obtain or already have a high school teaching license, which would make them eligible to remain at MLK if relevant positions are available.