Buena Vista Elementary defended at Salemtown Association meeting

Last Monday night during a neighborhood association discussion with Buena Vista Enhanced Option School leaders, the subject of the rather one-sided 2011 Tennessean article in which predominately white North End parents objected and balked came up. One Salemtown resident who volunteers weekly at Buena Vista bristled at claims that the kids who go there--predominantly poor and African-American--could not perform or behave.

The side I heard on Monday that did not get reported last summer by Nancy DeVille was that the Buena Vista students are well-behaved, enthusiastic and eager to learn in spite of the absence of advantages and resources that children in wealthier parts of Nashville enjoy.

I'm looking forward to us continuing to build a strong partnership with Buena Vista in order to continue to help bring it up where it belongs rather than bailing on it.