From the Director: Balancing new beginnings, old norms

In this season of fresh starts and new year resolutions, Director Amani Reed looks forward to the many opportunities open to USN as he gets to know the school’s culture.
By Amani Reed, Director

During my six months here at University School of Nashville, there have been so many wonderful stories shared with me about this community. Even greater, I’ve been able to witness daily the work that goes into making our buildings vibrant and active places to learn and teach.

A few times, I’ve walked by the Admissions Office — which is entering peak season for interviews and testing — to see an anxious-looking group of adults. As their 4- and 5-year-olds gather in After School for assessments, the parents have a group interview. Not wanting to compound their angst or interrupt the process, I continued to pass by; however, one morning I decided to open the door and said hello. To my surprise, the greeting I offered to prospective families that day was not only welcomed but also an implied expectation. Part of being a member of any community is learning how we connect. The risk of adding pressure to the process was balanced by welcoming a family community. I continue to see the importance and power of relationships in the USN community.  

I’ve also learned — as one parent driver so kindly let me know during my effort to exchange pleasantries — that the norm during morning arrival is for families to drop off and pull off quickly and efficiently; it isn’t the time to chat.

As in any community, there are smaller cultural moments that underlie layers of expectation and layers of communication that are at times unspoken or unwritten. And much like parenting, advice can be plentiful, but there’s no blueprint on how to work out of the Director’s Office.

And despite the century-plus history of our school and the depth of its educational roots, this moment feels new to so many of us as education evolves. How can we teach and learn in different ways? What does it mean to teach young children? USN was founded as a demonstration school to ask those big questions, test new educational theories, and give students a sense of meaning to participate in their education. My focus this year is to balance getting back to those roots while asking big questions about who we are. How should USN continue to grow and what opportunities lay ahead of us? Understanding the how and why of how we do things is grounded in something educationally relevant. Good schools ask these questions, and great schools learn and grow from their answers. 

As we start to dig into these queries in the months ahead to imagine the future of USN and better understand the why behind its culture and norms, there will be opportunities for every constituency to share their answers. People have been courageous in sharing with me their grievances and celebrations, and I want to assure each of you that you are being heard. I’ll keep asking, inquiring, noting, and researching, and you’ll hear more.

I have appreciated your willingness to share with me the amazing history of USN and look forward to building our future together. Enjoy your last few hours of Winter Break, and I’ll see everyone back on Edgehill shortly.
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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.