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District outlines Head Start/FirstAid contract changes, community wraparound services and a no‑cost social‑work affiliation with UT‑Knoxville
Summary
The academic committee reviewed multiple early‑childhood contracts tied to FirstAid/Head Start and new partnerships: the district will subcontract with FirstAid/Porta Leith for 37 classrooms (260–760 children depending on line item), continue family‑engagement wraparound services, fund instructional coaching, and approved an affiliation agreement
The academic committee presented several items related to early childhood services, Head Start/First Aid partnerships, and school‑based mental‑health supports.
FirstAid/Porta Leith Head Start/First Aid: Staff said the district’s current funded preschool enrollment is 3,340 students, supported through district, voluntary pre‑K and FirstAid funding. Packet materials showed FirstAid would reduce direct support from 50 classrooms to 37 classrooms in the current grant year; 13 classrooms would be funded under Porta Leith (Head Start grant) for approximately $2,041,000 to serve 3‑ and 4‑year‑old students at named elementary sites. The agreement cited support for roughly 260 students under that line item and larger totals (up to 760 students) under broader FirstAid contract lines. Staff said each classroom in the FirstAid contract receives approximately $150,000 of funding under the grant.
Wraparound and community partnerships: The board packet included an agreement for wraparound family‑engagement specialists and community partner contracts to continue services and screenings (hearing/vision/health, family engagement) in FirstAid classrooms; the wraparound contract total presented was $1,348,650 for the 37 classrooms. The district also proposed community partner subcontracts (two partners at $100,000) and instructional coaching contracts for classroom support totaling about $259,000.
University of Tennessee‑Knoxville social‑work affiliation: Staff recommended approval of an affiliation agreement with the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, College of Social Work to place MSW graduate students into supervised field placements in Memphis‑Shelby County Schools. The affiliation would provide supervised counseling, case management and crisis support at no cost to the district; staff noted prior placements and said the program strengthens the pipeline of future school social workers.
Board members asked questions about seat counts, waiting lists and how recent state expansions of pre‑K affected district allocations. Staff said the district did not receive additional VPK or city/county pre‑K expansion seats in the most recent state allocations and that a substantial wait list for three‑year‑old seats remains; staff said they would provide further detail in follow up emails. Members also asked whether current staff levels and community resources are adequate during the transition of some grant administration to Porta Leith; staff said they were assessing staffing and that additional family‑engagement specialists might be necessary.
No formal votes were recorded during the committee presentation; staff said contract approvals would be presented for board action in the usual procurement process.
