Metro Nashville Public Schools

Black Excellence

Celebrating MNPS Black Excellence

Black History Month is a time for MNPS to reflect on so many tremendous stories of achievement and resilience while also looking beyond the horizon to future successes. The district’s Black graduates have done, and are doing, incredible things, and we know we’ll see more and more of that in the years to come.

This year we’re celebrating MNPS Black Excellence again, this time through the lens of some of our graduates who are now working for the district: teachers, administrators, a coach, a bus driver, and more. Listen as they share what Black Excellence means to them – and how their years in Nashville's public schools helped them along the way. Oh, and don’t worry: You’ll get to hear from a few of today's brilliant and beautiful students, too.

And while you’re at it, take a look at the last couple of years of wonderful alumni and student MNPS Black Excellence videos.

Romie Reed

Stratford High School Athletic Director, Coach and English Teacher

William

Middle School Student

William, a seventh grader at Martin Luther King Jr. Academic Magnet School, says Black excellence is all about acting honorably and remembering those who have paved the way for him.

Nadia Grace

Middle School Student

Nadia Grace, a seventh grader at West End Middle School, sees Black excellence in the lives of her ancestors and their “hard work, intelligence, and following their curiosity.”

Watch the video to hear the ways Nadia Grace exemplifies Black excellence through her own commitments to creating a stronger community.

Dr. Doniethia Williams

Assistant Principal, Wright Middle School

Brysonn

High School Student

Marqueze

High School Student

MNPS students can see Black excellence all around them. Marqueze, a freshman at John Overton High School, says Black excellence happens when community members “come together as a whole and lift each other up.”

Benjamin Simmons

Dean of Instruction, Hull-Jackson Montessori Magnet School

Amber Tyus

Director, Talent Strategy

Raegen

Elementary School Student

Angelica Brooks-James

Jere Baxter Middle School, Community Achieves Site Director

Marsha Martin

Metro Schools Bus Driver

Dr. Stephen Williams

Assistant Principal, W.A. Bass Learning Center

Yolanda Burrell

Science Teacher, East Nashville Magnet Middle School