Nashville Freedom School Partnership

Nashville Freedom School Partnership uses literacy to instill cultural pride, self-assurance, and active citizenship with a primary focus on children and youth of color. Nashville Freedom School Partnership supports all Nashville children towards activating their potential so future generations can thrive in community together.

Our programs boost student motivations to read, generate more positive attitudes toward learning, increase self-esteem and connect the needs of children and families to the resources of our community. Nashville Freedom Schools summer program serves children in grades kindergarten through eighth grade for six weeks. The activity based Integrated Reading Curriculum (IRC), which is aligned to the Common Core State Standards, integrates reading, conflict resolution, and social action, and is designed to promote social, cultural, and historical awareness. A multi-year assessment of CDF Freedom Schools program sites continuously demonstrates the effectiveness of the IRC, which has proven to avert children's summer learning loss in reading achievement. In the afternoon we connect with our scholars through cultural enrichment, arts programming, STEM opportunities and field trips.

At Nashville Freedom Schools, we offer a six-week CDF Freedom Schools summer program designed to serve children and youth in grades K–8 in Nashville communities where quality academic enrichment programming is limited, too expensive, or non-existent at no-cost to families. Additionally, we have a paid Jr. Internship program for Scholars in grades 9-12.

By providing scholars with rich, culturally relevant pedagogy and high-quality books that deepen scholars’ understanding of themselves and all they have in common with others in a multiracial, multicultural democratic society, Nashville Freedom Schools programs further empowers scholars to believe in their ability and responsibility to make a difference.