Paisley Webb remembers Feb. 14, 2019, vividly – and Valentine’s Day had nothing to do with it.
She remembers being nervous all day at Maplewood High School. Nervous in her AVID class. Nervous when talking to her principal. Nervous that she wasn’t going to get the scholarship she had worked so hard for during her four years of high school.
It wasn’t until the end of the day that she found out she had received the Bell Tower Scholarship from Belmont University. The scholarship, available to Metro Nashville Public Schools students, would cover her entire tuition at the Nashville university.
“When I found out that I got it, I was just so happy,” Webb said. “It felt like a dream come true.”
Webb said she felt such a wave of relief come over her. She knew she would always pursue higher education whether she had a scholarship or not, but now she would be able to focus on her education without worrying about paying for the experience.
“To know that my hard work had paid off, it was really unforgettable,” she said.
It’s been almost six years since Webb found out she received the scholarship. Since then, she has: graduated from Maplewood, earned a bachelor’s degree in English and Secondary Education from Belmont, started her master’s program, gotten a job offer, and started teaching at her alma mater.
When she graduated from Belmont in May 2024, she had every intention of working as an educator for Metro Schools. She did not think she would get to teach at Maplewood but couldn’t imagine working anywhere else.
Webb currently teaches Freshman English and Intro to Cinema Studies and co-teaches the Ed Equity Lab.
She didn’t expect to teach Cinema Studies when she was studying to be a teacher but has found that she and her students enjoy the course. They study movie producers and the decisions they make, characters, scripts, and more. She said the class has been an opportunity for her students to express themselves in a new way while practicing their creative writing.
The Ed Equity Lab is an innovative program that pairs Maplewood and other MNPS high schools with top universities and allows students to earn dual-enrollment credit. Last semester, Maplewood paired up with Stanford University for a coding course. This semester, they are working with Georgetown University on an international relations class.
The Student Becomes the Teacher – and Colleague
Webb said it’s surreal to be back at Maplewood as a first-year teacher, especially since many of her teachers from high school are now her colleagues.
“Sometimes I still feel like I’m still a student, and I psych myself out of things,” Webb said. “But they’re amazing. They support me. They check in on me daily.”
The fall semester was all about discovery for Webb – figuring out classroom management and relationships with students and staff while balancing work and her master’s program.
“Last semester I felt like I was running around with my head cut off. But I loved every bit of it,” she said.
Webb believes being an alum of Maplewood has allowed her to better understand her students.
“They understand that I was here, in their shoes. We come from the same community, and I understand their backgrounds,” Webb said. “It opens up a pathway where they can really trust me.”
When she’s having hard days, Webb’s love of teaching is what keeps her going.
“It’s a really great opportunity here. I feel like I was supposed to be here.”
University MNPS
Learn more about the scholarship opportunities available exclusively to graduates of Metro Nashville Public Schools through our district's University MNPS initiative.