Learning Specialist Rachel Harley has over a decade in middle school education. Her office is located in room 1171 on the first floor of the Gordon Wing, in the former Middle School conference room.
Complied by Joel Bezaire, Head of Middle School
Rachel Harley is joining our Middle School Instructional Leadership Team as our Learning Specialist. She has spent over a decade in middle school education, most recently at Episcopal School of Nashville, teaching and leading in both public and independent school settings. Throughout her career, she has taught all core academic subjects, served as an interventionist, mentored teachers, and led teams focused on curriculum design and instructional excellence. Rachel is passionate about using data to drive differentiated instruction, designing systems that help all students succeed, and building strong relationships that serve as the foundation for learning and growth. Outside of school, Rachel is mom to Julia (4) and Tru (almost 1), and is currently working with her husband to renovate an antique shop for their 1940s stone cottage. She is excited to join the Middle School ILT and partner with colleagues to support exceptional teaching and meaningful learning across USN.
Interested in getting to know others new to USN? Meet new High School faculty here. Meet new Lower School faculty here. Meet new staff here.
Students in grades 5-8 and their families can take USN Evening Class 702: Mah and Pah Jong and Me to learn to play a board game together while benefiting USN's need-based scholarship endowment.
The Helen Meador Summer International Fellowship funded a summer of professional development in South America for Lower School Naturalist Carrie Riley. Through this profound experience, she said she plans to bring these lessons into her teaching, grounding her voice in wonder, joy, and a commitment to protecting the natural world, which she loves.
The impact of USN’s Art Department is not confined to art studios in the Christine Slayden Tibbott Center. Students often engage with art in ways that transcend traditional classroom learning, such as at the opening reception for artist Yanira Vissepó's “Fantastical Views.”
The Tigers have come back strong after time away on retreats & a holiday weekend. While golf is nearing the end of its season, cross country and mountain biking are still at the beginning. Both teams are heading away to races this weekend. Girls soccer and volleyball are about halfway through their regular season competition, both teams with exciting district wins and more games to be played determining their standings for post season competition.
Please join us at our home volleyball games Thursday, September 17, where our teams and school community will come together to honor the legacy of late Fitness Center Director William B. Scott. There will be space to share memories, be in community with one another, and remember a beloved member of the USN community. We hope to see you all there.
Our Middle School teams have been crushing the courts this week. With strong performances by all volleyball teams and wins for both boys and girls tennis, the Tigers aren’t slowing down as they reach the midpoint of their seasons. Mountain biking will hit the trails for race No. 2 this weekend, and cross country runners crushed their first home meet.
Please join us at our home High School volleyball games on Thursday, September 17 in the Sperling Gym, where our teams and school community will come together to honor the legacy of late Fitness Center Director William B. Scott. There will be space to share memories, be in community with one another, and remember a beloved member of the USN community. We hope to see you all there.
The Mountain bike team began its 13th season as it almost always does, with anticipation high and mindful of the high heat on the trails on the banks of the Duck River at Chickasaw Trace park outside of Columbia, TN. Over 650 mountain bikers in grades 5-12 from across the state competed at this first race of the NICA-TICL season.
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.