The Network
Nashville Classical Charter Schools is a K-8 public charter school operator that opened with 89 founding Kindergarteners on July 31, 2013 at Nashville Classical East. Over the last 8 years, we have added one grade each year and will be starting a second campus, Nashville Classical West in the 23-24 school year.
Since the day we opened, our team has worked to achieve extraordinary academic results. Indeed, in 2019, Nashville Classical East was named a Tennessee Reward School and was the city’s highest performing Title I school, closing historic achievement gaps.
At Nashville Classical, our mission is to educate a diverse community of K-8 scholars through a joyful, rigorous curriculum and within a structured, intentional culture, building a foundation of knowledge and habits for high school, college, and life.
Every week, our entire school comes together for a Community Meeting. Our diverse community is the linchpin of our mission. Every scholar and staff member attends and any family member is invited. On Fridays, our school is packed with people and overflowing with excitement. Scholars of the Week lead cheers, we review our F.I.R.S.T. Habits and community commitments, and our entire school sings or performs.
Our school prides itself on our use of the core knowledge sequence. Our curriculum has been profiled in Chalkbeat and The Tennessean, too. As a result of our curriculum and hard-working teachers, Nashville Classical‘s minority and low-income students score 2.5 times higher than their district peers on standardized tests in reading.
Ultimately, school culture is not one thing -- it’s everything. It’s how people walk, talk, and act. We think school should be a place where children can’t wait to come every morning. In fact, our warm, joyful morning routine was profiled in The Tennessean. Staff members receive 25+ days of professional development to support growth and personal advancement aligned with individual goals.
Likewise, over the past two years, we have retained above 85% of our teachers and have launched innovative childcare partnerships and other benefits to attract and retain top talent.
The Team
Our team is hardworking, humble, and smart. We come from diverse backgrounds and bring different skills, but all of us believe a child’s demography cannot be their destiny.
Staff members at Nashville Classical Charter Schools share a set of sacred commitments to our community of staff, scholars, and families.
I commit to build and sustain our diverse community
- I work on myself in order to work alongside others.
- I seek diverse perspectives.
- I speak up for and stand with my community.
I commit to do what’s best for kids
- I start with a willingness to trust and to try.
- I invest my time and energy in scholar success.
- I do what’s hard now for what’s right later.
I commit to be kind
- I assume the best.
- I talk to people, not about people.
- I spread joy and practice gratitude.
I commit to leave things better than I found them
- If I see a problem, I try to solve it.
- I learn from my mistakes and live in the now.
- I pick up trash and put things back where they go.
