Stratford STEM Magnet School Upper Campus, also known as Stratford High School, was the last high school built by the old Davidson County school system in 1961 before the city and county systems consolidated. It was an early leader in racial integration in the county as one of the first three integrated schools – and one of the top schools to show quantitative progress in student integration.
Stratford also has broken ground with its academic programs. It was one of the first accredited STEM schools in the state of Tennessee. Students, including many who went to the Stratford Lower Campus for middle school, belong to both a magnet and an academy school, starting with the Freshman Academy before choosing a pathway to one of two career academies: the Academy of National Safety and the Science of Teaching and the Academy of Science and Engineering. 
The academies focus on science, technology, engineering and math in all their classes, as well as providing interdisciplinary, project-based learning experiences that connect students to the real world.
Stratford also offers numerous Advanced Placement courses, including biology, calculus, English literature, English language, economics, government, music theory, physics, U.S. history and world history, and a Cambridge advanced academics program. Students have been consistent winners in STEM state and regional competitions for over a decade, and the robotics team recently earned a national competition entry-fee sponsorship from Nissan.
Stratford’s faculty and administrators seek to be a positive influence on the Inglewood/East Nashville community by boosting college enrollment through a collaboration with Belmont University and the Bridges to Belmont program. Bridges to Belmont started in 2013 as a full scholarship program designed to enroll high-potential students from Metro Nashville Public Schools who may not have previously been able to consider the university as an option. Stratford’s student scholarship dollars in general have skyrocketed in recent years, with the Class of 2020 earning more than $8 million over four years.
Stratford’s Every Student Known approach begins with an invitation to get to know students in individualized meetings, followed by frequent and consistent messaging used throughout daily engagement and social media.
The orange and black Stratford Spartans have a motto that reminds students of their commitment to a larger community: “Accentuate the positive, always do what is right and have courage under fire.”
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