Organization: THE BRANCH OF NASHVILLE INC
Mission: TO OPERATE A FOOD PANTRY, PROVIDE ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING CLASSES, ASSIST WITH JOB PLACEMENT AND PROVIDE TUTORING AND HOMEWORK HELP TO CHILDREN.
Activities: IN 2019, OUR ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROGRAM INCLUDE BOTH DAY AND NIGHT CLASSES, AS WELL AS TRADITIONAL AND INTENSIVE CLASSES AND CONSISTED OF 16 DIFFERENT CLASSES, LED BY 12 DIFFERENT TEACHERS. TRADITIONAL CLASSES MET TWICE A WEEK (2 HOURS A SESSION) FOR 40 WEEKS. OUR INTENSIVE CLASSES MET FOR 3-4 DAYS A WEEK FOR 2-3 HOURS A DAY. OUR PROGRAM PROVIDED A TOTAL OF APPROXIMATELY 3000 HOURS OF ENGLISH INSTRUCTION IN 2019. THE COST FOR ALL OF OUR CLASSES IS MINIMAL, ALLOWING US TO OFFER QUALITY BUT AFFORDABLE INSTRUCTION. TRADITIONAL STUDENTS PAY AROUND $2 PER HOUR, AND INTENSIVE STUDENTS PAY AROUND $3 PER HOUR. ANOTHER BENEFIT OFFERED TO OUR STUDENTS WAS APPROXIMATELY 30 HOURS OF CHILDCARE FOR STUDENTS CHILDREN DURING THEIR CLASS TIME. OUR CHILDCARE IS STAFFED BY 4 PAID CHILDCARE WORKERS. OUR STAFF ALSO INCLUDED AN ASSISTANT TEACHER, WHO WAS ALSO ONE OF OUR ESL ADVANCED LEVEL STUDENTS, AND TWO ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANTS WHO HAD STUDIED IN OUR ESL PROGRAM AS WELL. DURING THE 2019 SESSION, WE SERVED APPROXIMATELY 300 STUDENTS IN LEVELS 0-5. THIS YEAR, WE ALSO ADDED A READING SUPPORT TUTORIAL FOR STUDENTS WHO COULD NOT READ AND NEEDED FOCUSED INSTRUCTION IN READING BEFORE ENTERING A BASIC ENGLISH CLASS. THE ETHNICITY BREAKDOWN OF OUR STUDENT ENROLLMENT WAS AS FOLLOWS: 198 HISPANIC; 63 CAUCASIAN(INCLUDES MIDDLE EASTERN); 33 AFRICAN; 6 ASIAN/PACIFIC ISLANDER.OUR STUDENTS LIVE PRIMARILY IN SOUTHEAST NASHVILLEANTIOCH, LAVERGNE, SMYRNA, AND MURFREESBORO. THE MAJORITY OF OUR TEACHING STAFF WAS PAID $15 PER HOUR; ONE LEAD TEACHER RECEIVED $18 PER HOUR, AND THE ENGLISH DIRECTOR/INTENSIVE TEACHER RECEIVED $18.30 PER HOUR. MORE THAN 6 HOURS OF IN-SERVICE TRAINING WAS PROVIDED FOR OUR TEACHING STAFF AS WELL. VOLUNTEERS, NUMBERING OVER 100, ASSISTED THROUGHOUT THE YEAR AND OFFERED ASSISTANCE IN CONVERSATION PRACTICE, INTERVIEWS, RESUME BUILDING, AND ROLE-PLAYING. EZELL HARDING CHRISTIAN SCHOOL IS ONE GROUP WHO CAME OFTEN TO SERVE AS CONVERSATION PARTNERS. CHURCH GROUPS, BUSINESSES, AND INDIVIDUALS VOLUNTEERED TO SERVE FOOD, ASSIST IN MAINTENANCE, CLEAN-UP, TECHNOLOGY, HOST CELEBRATIONS, ETC. 91% OF OUR STUDENTS AVERAGED 70% OR HIGHER ON THE UNIT TESTS. IN FACT, THE MAJORITY OF THE STUDENTS SCORED IN THE 85-90% RANGE. OUR STUDENTS MET AND EXCEEDED THE EXPECTATION FOR THIS GOAL. OUR PRE-LITERACY AND EARLY LITERACY STUDENTS COMPLETED THEIR LIST OF READING SKILLS WHICH INCLUDING SAYING AND WRITING THE ALPHABET, SAYING NUMBERS, SAYING SHORT VOWELS, COMPLETING A BASIC FORM, SAYING, SPELLING, AND WRITING THEIR NAMES AND ADDRESSES, READING WORDS AND SHORT SENTENCES. OUR INTENSIVE STUDENTS COMPLETED JOB APPLICATIONS, CREATED RESUMES AND COVER LETTERS, AND COMPLETED A MINIMUM OF 2 PRACTICE INTERVIEWS WITH VOLUNTEERS FROM LOCAL BUSINESSES OR BUSINESS STUDENTS. THE DOLLAR GENERAL LITERACY FOUNDATION AWARDED US A $15,000 GRANT WHICH ASSISTED US IN PROVIDING ENGLISH TO OUR COMMUNITY. THE EZELL FOUNDATION AWARDED US A GRANT OF $20,000 FOR THE PROGRAM. THROUGH A $10,000 GRANT FROM THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION, WE BOUGHT AND INSTALLED TECHNOLOGY THAT ALLOWED OUR STUDENTS TO UTILIZE LAPTOP COMPUTERS IN THE INTENSIVE CLASSROOM AND PROVIDED A SMARTBOARD FOR THE INTENSIVE CLASS AS WELL.
THE BRANCH OPERATES A FOOD PANTRY SERVING PEOPLE LIVING IN ONE OF THREE SURROUNDING ZIP CODES, WHICH IS THE ONLY QUALIFICATION FOR RECEIVING FOOD.THE PANTRY IS OPEN TWO DAYS A WEEK, 51 WEEKS A YEAR, WITH THE CAPACITY TO SERVE UP TO 110 FAMILIES PER WEEK. EACH FAMILY RECEIVES 30-40 LBS OF FOOD ONE TIME PER MONTH. THE BRANCH ALSO DISTRIBUTES USDA FOOD THROUGH THE EMERGENCY FOOD ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 99% OF OUR CLIENTELE QUALIFY TO RECEIVE USDA FOOD, WHICH ADDS AN ADDITIONAL 20-30 POUNDS OF FOOD PER FAMILY PER MONTH. THROUGH THE HELP OF FOOD DONATIONS, THE AVERAGE COST OF FOOD PER FAMILY PER MONTH IS $1.96. THE BRANCH SERVED 5,640 FAMILIES TOTALING 22,222 PEOPLE IN 2019, AN INCREASE OF 664 FAMILIES AND 2,616 PEOPLE OVER 2018. THE PANTRY IS COMPLETELY STAFFED BY VOLUNTEERS, UTILIZING AN AVERAGE OF 25-30 VOLUNTEERS PER WEEK.
NTEE category: Food, Agriculture & Nutrition
Secondary category: Human Services