Meet Antioch halfway

Like in any political environment, Nashville’s chatter class gets obsessed with certain topics. Two of those topics of late that have hung on longer than most are the “English Only” debate and the state of the city’s public schools.

A conservative corner of the Metro Council wants to make English the official language of Nashville government — a sentiment no doubt tied to the ongoing backlash against the growing Hispanic population in the city. The city’s liberals and moderates are aghast at the impact it might have on the city’s public image.

Nashville’s schools have also been the source of much teeth gnashing for the last few years, as the system has sunk into a form of state receivership under federal No Child Left Behind laws. Local school system managers are no longer running the schools. Instead, state bureaucrats are in charge.

Ironically, in one of the fastest growing, most diverse and immigrant-rich areas of the city, non-English speaking immigrants want to learn English. Yet, they have no place to take advantage of Metro government funded classes to learn English. Perhaps on an even sadder note, in the same rapidly growing portion of the city, educational resources are available for students cannot be used because of a simple lack of space.

Maybe it is because Antioch just isn’t that trendy. Let’s be honest. Antioch is not a very cool place to live or even admit you have visited if you move in the power circles of Metro government. Despite massive growth and its potential strategic positioning as a future site for economic development, Antioch has gotten little to no attention from Metro government when it comes to simple infrastructure needs.

That approach leaves Metro resources on the table. For example, funding could be secured for two pre-kindergarten classrooms in the Antioch area, if there were a public community center in which to house the classrooms.

Translators and English classes are services the school system provides throughout Davidson County, including in the Antioch area. But for most effective delivery of those services, a space other than a school should be used.

In other parts of the community — for example, East Nashville and the Park Avenue areas — the school system uses Metro community centers as neutral, family-friendly spaces to reach out to parents. Parents, including those who have had trouble in school, had negative encounters with the law, or who may be undocumented immigrants may be less likely to take advantage of services offered in schools and other government buildings.

And here is a little fact for Councilman Eric Crafton. A service already offered in the Antioch area — a regular “family night” event at Apollo Middle School, in which children help their non-English-speaking parents improve their English skills — will benefit from not being held in a school building.

It is no secret in Metro government that Antioch needs more public infrastructure. The Metro Parks Department has already identified Antioch as an area vastly underserved by city government.

There is also a rising tide of crime in the Antioch area that is undeniable. In City Paper editorial board interviews with candidates from the Antioch area more than two years ago, they all expressed concerns about making Antioch streets safer and free of proliferating street gangs. The bad public image of Hickory Hollow Mall says it all about the problems facing the area.

At the same time, Antioch is one of the places in Metro where truly affordable housing for young, working families exists, and one of the few places left with ready interstate access and wide open green spaces for economic development. There is also a truly diverse, multi-racial and ethnic community in the area that brings richness to the city few other areas can offer.

It may not agree with the strident new urbanism crowd that dominates the dialogue in Metro government and wrings their hands about sprawl, but Antioch has a great deal to offer Nashville.

It is past time for Metro government to meet that community halfway.