History of PDS and USN
Founded in 1888 by the Peabody Board of Trustees on the University of Nashville campus, then home to the State Normal College for teachers, the Winthrop Model School was named for Robert Winthrop, the president of the Peabody Fund, created by George Peabody after the Civil War to improve education in the South. To quote Paul Conkin’s history Peabody College, “The Winthrop Model School did not allow practice teaching, only observation. [Peabody Normal College President W.H. Payne] wanted a level of artful instruction that far surpassed what a beginning student could offer.”
But by 1913, the Winthrop School had lost the support of what had become George Peabody College for Teachers, which had left the old campus. The Winthrop School’s last graduating class numbered only 28.
In 1915, planned and led by Dr. Thomas Alexander, the Peabody Demonstration School was founded on Peabody's new campus on 21st Avenue, combining the old observational method favored by Payne and the new experimental methods of teacher training. At first the school was located in the basement of the Jesup Psychological Building. In 1925 the present building, designed in the classical style by the architectural firm of McKim, Mead, and White, was completed on Edgehill Avenue.
The colors of Peabody Demonstration School and of University School of Nashville, its successor, are the same as those of its ancestor, the University of Nashville: garnet and Columbia blue.
In 1915, planned and led by Dr. Thomas Alexander, the Peabody Demonstration School was founded on Peabody's new campus on 21st Avenue, combining the old observational method favored by Payne and the new experimental methods of teacher training. At first the school was located in the basement of the Jesup Psychological Building. In 1925 the present building, designed in the classical style by the architectural firm of McKim, Mead, and White, was completed on Edgehill Avenue.
The colors of Peabody Demonstration School and of University School of Nashville, its successor, are the same as those of its ancestor, the University of Nashville: garnet and Columbia blue.
Peabody Demonstration School quickly earned an excellent reputation for its curriculum and faculty. It also gained respect for its early commitment to diversity, a commitment which remains a defining strength of a USN education.
Short Films on PDS/USN History
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This is That School
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2000 Edgehill, Our Alumni Magazine
View digital versions of 2000 Edgehill, the alumni magazine for PDS and USN.
Building Peabody Demonstration School
PDS Becomes USN (1974-75)
When Peabody College decided to close the Demonstration School in 1974, a group of parents, alumni, students and teachers formed University School of Nashville on the Demonstration School campus with almost all of the Demonstration School students and teachers, dedicating the new institution to continuing the school's historic legacy. Today, University School is the educational home of approximately 1,000 students and 150 faculty and staff.
USN’s legacy of excellence continues in its faculty, which is consistently listed by students, parents, and alumni as University School’s greatest strength. In addition to superb academic training, USN’s teachers bring to their classrooms an abiding belief in the importance of attention to the individual student.
USN’s legacy of excellence continues in its faculty, which is consistently listed by students, parents, and alumni as University School’s greatest strength. In addition to superb academic training, USN’s teachers bring to their classrooms an abiding belief in the importance of attention to the individual student.
Demonstration School Beginnings
Read historical articles from 2000 Edgehill, the alumni magazine of Peabody Demonstration School and University School of Nashville.
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HS Students Write about Their School in 1970
We discovered a batch of letters written by students in 1970 to Dr. Thomas Alexander, founder of PDS.
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The Evolution of Clubs at PDS and USN
Not everything has changed in 100 years.
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PDS Becomes USN
As Peabody College closes the Demonstration School, parents and teachers create a new school.
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PDS Opens its Doors Wider
"Voluntary action" in 1964 meant the school no longer excluded students of color.
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Early Years of PDS
In 1915 and 1925 Peabody Demonstration School charted its course.
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The Places We Miss
Our campus has changed, and we miss some of the old places that have vanished with time.
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The Great Fire of '54
Charlie Appleton '56 tells the story of the disastrous fire that struck the heart of the school.
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Our Neighborhood Before Peabody College Arrived
An alumnus looks at the neighborhood before it was our neighborhood.
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Innovator in Fifth Grade: Miss Pitts
In 1938, fifth grade teacher Miss May Pitts recorded all the work done in her class.
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Noise, Action, Discussion, Music
Remembrance of first grade in 1932 and of the top musicians who taught at Peabody Demonstration School in the decades to follow.
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Before Peabody Demonstration School
The University of Nashville and the Winthrop Model School came first.
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A Student's Scrapbook in the Early Days
Learn about life at Peabody nearly a hundred years ago in these extracts from the memory book kept by Eleanor Brown '21.
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85 Years Ago at 2000 Edgehill
Learn who paid for the 1925 Demonstration School building and what it was like to be a student here then.
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The Cooperative Student Council, 1926-1927
Students at PDS took their responsibilities seriously most of the time. We read the minutes of their student council meetings.
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1929 and 1930 Recalled
A young Mr. Beauchamp was a student favorite in those days. Both football and debate excited the fans.
University School of Nashville
2000 Edgehill Avenue Nashville, TN 37212 615/321-8000 Contact Us
