Nashville School of the Arts

Nashville School of the Arts (NSA) is a public magnet high school including grades 9-12 for arts-interested students located in Nashville, Tennessee. Each student enrolls in one or more of the nine conservatories within the school; dance, theatre arts, literary arts, visual arts, and music (including choral arts, band, orchestra, guitar, and piano). Students must audition, interview, or write an essay to be accepted. There is no lottery admission to NSA.

Nashville School of the Arts
Location
1250 Foster Avenue Nashville , Tennessee 37210 United States
Coordinates	36.132027°N 86.739411°W / 36.132027; -86.739411
Information
Type	Magnet high school
Motto	Scholar, Artist, Individual
Established	1993
Principal	Justin Thomas
Teaching staff	33.53 (FTE)[1]
Grades	9 - 12
Number of students	569 (2023-2024)[1]
Student to teacher ratio	16.97[1]
Color(s)	Carolina blue and black     [2]
Team name	Mustangs[2]
Website	https://nsa.mnps.org/

Students are expected to study in their respective arts and simultaneously complete the same academic curriculum as all other Metropolitan Nashville Public School students. While the school focuses on the arts, their academic scores rank among the top four in the MNPS school system, and Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program scores are above the Davidson County average.^[3][4]

History

Nashville School of the Arts began as a small magnet program for arts-interested students in Pearl-Cohn High School in 1993. As time went on, NSA grew to a size warranting its own facility, which was achieved in 1996 on the former Cumberland School campus. NSA eventually moved to the Tennessee Preparatory School campus southeast of downtown Nashville where they are currently located.^[5] The school has established pencil partners,^[6] which is a business or other community organization that teams up with a Nashville school to volunteer time and donate resources that promote student success, as well as community partners (including Youth Villages, the Nashville Shakespeare Festival, and PG-13 players).

Newspaper

Backstage is NSA's student-run newspaper. In 2010, the publication began a web-based format. Stories are added constantly, complete with upcoming NSA events, reviews, scheduled activities, and anything that is of interest to the student body.

Notable alumni

• Natalia Dyer, actress
• Melanie Faye, musician (guitarist)
• Sophie Allison, singer-songwriter^[7]
• Oliver "OG" Grose III, record producer

Principals

• Dr. Justin Thomas (2022-)
• Dr. Gregory Stewart (2012-2022)
• Bob Wilson (2001-2012)
• Dr. Elbert Ross (1998-2001)
• Robert Churchwell (1997-1998)

Dean of Students

• Dr. Bryan Gwyn (2017-2018)
• Matthew Kilkenny (2015–2017)
• Randi Staggs (2014–2015)

Assistant principals

• Dr. Iris Colette Barbour (2018 - present)
• Dr. Randi Staggs (2015–present)
• Oceana Sheehan
• Tonja L. Williams
• Lendozia Edwards
• Mary Nollner