University School of Nashville

University School of Nashville
Location
Nashville, TN
United States
Information
Type Private
Established 1975 (originally established as Peabody Demonstration School in 1915)
CEEB code 431725
Director Vince Durnan
Faculty 59
Enrollment 1022
Campus Urban area
Color(s) Garnet and Columbia blue[1]
Athletics conference TSSAA[2]
Mascot Tiger
Website http://www.usn.org/

University School of Nashville is a private K-12 school located in Nashville, Tennessee.

History

Referred to colloquially as USN, the school was founded in 1888 by the Peabody Board of Trustees.[3] The school was first founded as Winthrop Model School; in 1915, it became Peabody Demonstration School (PDS), a part of Peabody College intended to demonstrate the operation of a school. The school was founded by Dr. Richard Thomas Alexander.[4] While it was Peabody Demonstration School, it became the second high school in Nashville to be desegregated, following Father Ryan High School, and the first one to be fully desegregated, meaning that extra-curricular activities were desegregated in addition to academics. The demonstration school was closed in 1974, several years before Peabody merged with adjacentVanderbilt University. The students' parents bought the school; by a student vote, the school was established as University School of Nashville.

The school is now one of the most prestigious independent schools in the Nashville, Tennessee area. Historically, along with and alternating with Montgomery Bell Academy, USN has more students recognized by the National Merit Scholarship Program than any other Nashville high school. In the Class of 2011, with 91 students, there were 12 semifinalists and 13 commended students recognized by the program. In 2010, both Presidential Scholars for Tennessee were USN students. USN also produced a Presidential Scholar in 2012.

Facilities and campuses

Perhaps the largest addition to the school in its history came in 1998, when an 80-acre (32 ha) external campus was purchased for the purpose of housing athletic facilities. The River Campus currently houses a baseball field, a softball field, a full-sized track, and 5 multi-purpose fields that are rotated between men's and women's soccer, lacrosse, and ultimate frisbee. Construction has recently finished on tennis courts. In addition, this site originally had a 15-acre (61,000 m2) sum of wetland, situated on the Cumberland River and Whites Creek. The original wetland was filled in for athletic fields and a new one of equivalent size was excavated and filled with water.

In 2003, USN, with the intention of furthering its mission, opened the Christine Slayden Tibbott Center for the Visual Arts. The center also included a sizeable fitness center.[5]

In 2004, USN opened the Hassenfeld Library. This 20,000-square-foot (1,900 m2) addition now houses 25,000 books, 2400 educational videos, and 147 periodicals.[6]

In 2011, University School of Nashville did a major renovation of the Sperling Cafeteria, a facility originally constructed in 1989, to expand eating space and the kitchen. The facility is now LEED-certified. The new facility was completed soon after the beginning of the 2011-2012 school year in August 2011.

In 2014, University School of Nashville renovated the Gordon Wing entrance and created a new welcoming facility for visitors. This renovation also created more classrooms, meeting rooms and business offices. This coincided with the school's 100th year.

Notable alumni

References

Notes
  1. ↑ "University School of Nashville ~ History of PDS and USN". Retrieved 2013-03-01.
  2. ↑ "University School of Nashville ~ Athletic Philosophy". Retrieved 2011-02-06.
  3. ↑ The USN website's history page
  4. ↑ George W. Lucero (2012). Begin with the Child, the Story of New College, Unpublished manuscript, Illinois State University, Normal, IL.
  5. ↑ USN Facilities and Campuses
  6. ↑ The Hassenfeld Library

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