The Scientist in the Classroom Partnership Program, previously the National Science Foundation GK-12 Graduate Teaching Fellows Program, began serving Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools in January 2000. Currently, the Scientist in the Classroom Partnership (SCP) Program is a collaboration between four educational institutions of higher learning, all within a five-mile radius of each other in Nashville, Tennessee. In affiliation with Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools, the participating institutions include Vanderbilt University, Fisk University, Meharry Medical College and Tennessee State University.

The Scientist in the Classroom Partnership Program establishes partnerships between science teaching fellows (STFs) and Nashville middle school science teachers. The STFs are graduate students and post-doctoral fellows in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) who collaborate with educators in middle school science classrooms one day a week throughout the school year. STFs focus on working with teacher partners to develop and implement hands-on, inquiry-based activities, providing classroom demonstrations, assisting with tutoring students and directing student research projects. The Scientist in the Classroom Partnership Program is a partnership that benefits fellows, teachers, and students.