Leadership transitions announced

9/28/2023

In September, Director Amani Reed shared three changes on the Administrative Team with the University School of Nashville community.

Teresa Standard has stepped away from her role as Chief Financial Officer to focus on her medical recovery following an auto accident and heart attack. Her impact on USN is impossible to quantify. She was instrumental in stabilizing the school’s financial position during her first years as CFO, and her work to improve our long-term financial outlook, infrastructure, policies, and business practices will serve us for decades to come. She leaves our school in a far better place than she found it. Since joining USN in 2001, Ms. Standard has financially shepherded our school through nearly tripling the operating budget to $31.8 million and worked with the Development Office and Board of Trustees Finance Committee to exponentially grow the endowment from $2.1 million to $33.5 million. She has been passionate about our school's construction and sustainability efforts and pushed for installing the geothermal heating and cooling system for the Tibbott Center and Hassenfeld Library as well as the bridge connecting Tibbott to the historic main building. Also, as the parent of two alumni (Cooper Standard ’18 and Henry Standard ’18) and wife of an alumnus (Bobby Frank ’85), Ms. Standard’s connection to the USN community over the past 22 years is deep. As you can imagine, she is devastated to close this chapter of her professional life. In her absence, the Business Office has stepped up to keep USN running smoothly with Controller Phylicia Moye as Acting CFO.

Head of Lower School Amy Woodson will retire at the end of the 2023-2024 academic year. Ms. Woodson joined USN 10 years ago and has led our Lower School through critical times, including four months of remote learning during the pandemic and the gradual transition back to the classroom amid health protocols and outdoor lunches to mitigate virus spread. Over the last decade, she has infused Lower School with her passion for young learners and outdoor education: growing student support from a full-time and a part-time position to a robust team of six faculty who take a cohesive approach to meet the diverse learning and social-emotional needs of our students; cultivating our Naturalist Program to take place daily with full-time support; providing opportunities for school spirit and relationships to grow through Wednesday morning Community Meetings with all Lower Schoolers gathered in Durnan Auditorium; supporting the development of our K-4 identity curriculum; fostering parent programming and connection through seminars and suppers. Under her leadership, we have focused on our youngest learners and met their needs to provide a foundation of academic skills, a sense of self, and true curiosity that defines a USN experience. In retirement, Ms. Woodson plans to venture outdoors more and raise a new golden retriever.

Quinton P. Walker, Ed.D. is Assistant Head of School for Academics and will provide leadership and oversight of academic operations, policy, curricula, teaching, and assessment, focus on curricular cohesion K-12 including learning and counseling support, and lead our accreditation and school renewal processes. Dr. Walker joined USN in 2016 as Head of High School and has been a leader on the national stage among independent schools for several years — including through his work with the National Association of Independent Schools, Southern Association of Independent Schools, and Independent School Data Exchange — by organizing conferences and teacher seminars, presenting as a subject-matter expert on student well-being support to faculty and media, and chairing accreditation teams.

USN will begin national searches this fall to fill the roles of Chief Financial Officer, Head of Lower School, and Head of High School for the 2024-2025 academic year.

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List of 3 news stories.

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Support winter sports through Tiger Club
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