Don’t Let This Happen to You

When making your plans for Spring Break, take notes from international headlines during the recent winter storm.
Not that your friends would share your text messages with The New York Times (would they?), but elements of that story from Houston/Cancun last week now resonate through schools nationwide. I am suppressing a degree of schadenfreude, knowing that’s not a healthy way to go. But the timing is kind of perfect — we’ve been sending the message about mass travel, crowded destinations, and CDC quarantine expectations. Then the junior senator from Texas sets the exactly contraindicated example.
 
In case your media habits are elevated sufficiently not to have even seen the story, here’s a link to what happened. Suffice to say that skipping town, citing children’s demands for a break as the reason, without any clear commitment to staying home and testing after return, did not play well. Talk about a cautionary tale. Kind of a gift, really.
 
The takeaways, as Spring Break approacheth:
  1. We’re not making this stuff up, and we haven’t from the start (our brilliant Medical Advisory Board sees to that) — everyone in the K-12 world is buzzing about the topic.
  2. We forecast, with Nashville’s numbers diminishing to where we stood in late October, that the next big spike might follow the vacation week — heaven forbid.
  3. We still regularly get calls from worried USN community members who saw/heard about a student or family flying around the country for some purpose, asking if we could confirm that there were plans to quarantine thereafter. Really, it happens pretty much weekly, this week included.
So the ask is that you please take all that to heart. We’re doing our level best to keep things rolling, getting the little and the big things right, striving for the consensus that makes school possible. And as ever, with pooled testing resuming on campus and 150+ faculty and staff getting their first vaccination, we count on your good sense and community spirit.
 
Here’s another test we can pass. I like our chances. Just call if you’re not sure.
 
Keeping this message on repeat,
Vince Durnan
Director
 
Back

More USN News

List of 3 news stories.

  • Remembering Cassandra Teague Walker '67

    Peabody Demonstration School's first African-American graduate passed away September 3, 2025. Cassandra Teague Walker '67 returned to her alma mater many times to share her experiences with young students and is featured on the 21st Avenue garage mural.
    Read More

  • 5 USN students named National Merit Semifinalists

    The National Merit Scholarship Program honors seniors whose PSAT scores show exceptional academic ability and potential for success in rigorous college studies. Congratulations to seniors Darcy Dove, Finch Fleming, Evan Giles, Ismaeel Moskinzada, and Lin Zheng for this honor.
    Read More
  • USN parents peruse rows of pre-loved books during Fall Book Frenzy 2024 in Cheek Gym. The used book and media sale benefits USN's Hassenfeld Library and provides funding for visiting authors.

    Clear, restock your shelves during Fall Book Frenzy

    Thank you to the many families, faculty, and staff who have donated their pre-loved books, games, and puzzles for resale. USNA continues to accept donations. Fall Book Frenzy takes place Thursday, September 25 through Saturday, September 27 in Cheek Gym. This annual used book sale benefits the Hassenfeld Library.
    Read More
Archive

Contact

Edgehill Campus
2000 Edgehill Ave.
Nashville, TN 37212

Phone:  615-321-8000
Fax:       615-321-0889 
Email:    info@usn.org

River Campus
1200 County Hospital Road
Nashville, TN 37218

Resources

USN Mission: 
University School of Nashville models the best educational practices. In an environment that represents the cultural and ethnic composition of Metropolitan Nashville, USN fosters each student’s intellectual, artistic, and athletic potential, valuing and inspiring integrity, creative expression, a love of learning, and the pursuit of excellence.