Stratford STEM Magnet School Upper Campus is expanding the sense of possibility for the nearly 600 students who walk through the doors every morning.
Between the school’s two academies, the Academy of National Safety and Science of Teaching and the Academy of Science and Engineering, students have the opportunity to learn about – and have immediate exposure to – the most in-demand job industries, including criminal justice, teaching, BioSTEM, engineering, and interdisciplinary science and research.
Just ask Gregory Morrow, a 12th grade student in the Academy of National Safety and Science of Teaching. Morrow is doing more than just studying criminal justice from a textbook; he’s actively preparing for his future dream career in law enforcement as a detective. 
Morrow participates in the Cadet program, studies forensics projects like staged crime scenes and autopsies, and has served as a court bailiff in Stratford’s Youth Court program. This smaller learning community has inspired him with a direction for after graduation – and the hands-on learning and experience he needs to get there.
“Stratford is a very good school with intelligent kids, and a lot of people that graduate from Stratford go right into their fields,” Morrow said. “Seeing that, that people graduate and do what they learned from this pathway, changed me, too, from being a kid who didn’t know what he was doing or didn’t know where he wanted to go.”
On the other side of campus, students in the Academy of Science and Engineering are also spending their high school days by completing real-world experiments.
Those experiments – and experiences – are thanks in part to dedicated educators like Savannah Price, a BioSTEM career pathway teacher at Stratford. Price, a career scientist by trade, transitioned to the classroom to break down barriers for underrepresented students who also have a love of science and research.
“Our academy programs help students make connections within their general education classes,” Price said. “We show them how the stuff they’re learning in other classes will relate to their future careers.”
“Students can see there’s not just one way to do things, and if they don’t fit with some idea that may be taught as the only way to proceed into adulthood, students get to see that it’s OK if they don’t have it all figured out yet, and they know our academies give them the tools they need no matter what they choose to do later."
And, with only five years in the classroom so far, Price’s guiding mission as a teacher is already coming true: A former student, who had to overcome many obstacles in their education career, is now a full-time phlebotomist with the Red Cross. 
Register to Attend Stratford
Stratford STEM Magnet School Upper Campus is located in the bustling East Nashville community and is home to smart, prepared, and ready graduates. Stratford is enrolling for the upcoming school year, and you can apply online today.
Academies of Nashville at Stratford STEM Magnet Upper Campus
Academy of National Safety and Science of Teaching Pathways
- Criminal Justice and Correction Services
- Teaching as a Profession
Academy of Science and Engineering Pathways
- BioSTEM
- Engineering
- Interdisciplinary Science and Research
Watch and Listen to Stratford Students