The Bright School in Chattanooga, Tennessee, was founded in 1913 by progressive educator Mary G. Bright and currently enrolls about 355 students from preschool to fifth grade. The school’s curriculum and activities are a blend of the hands-on and personalized learning upon which Ms. Bright built her school and innovative practices of today that nurture and challenge students. A comprehensive arts education program has been part of the curriculum since the early days of the school’s operation. A vibrant mural, exclusively crafted by the artistic hands of the Bright School students, is currently on display at the North Chattanooga Post Office, and their woodshop students have been featured recently in a national publication, Wooden Boat Magazine. Fifth graders participate in the weekly internal news broadcast, We’re the Bright School (WTBS), where they practice presentation skills and learn the mechanics of audio and visual equipment. All students participate in grade-level plays beginning in prekindergarten. Students can also hone their musical skills in the choir or handbell ensemble, and selected students are annually accepted to the Organization of American Kodály Educators National Conference Choir. The Bright School has placed a priority on professional development by giving teachers resources and time for training, fellowships, and pursuing higher education in their craft. They believe arts education is not just about creating artists. It’s about nurturing well-rounded individuals who are confident, creative, and compassionate.
Before the transition into a fine arts magnet school in 2006, Creswell went by many other names. The school is named after Isaiah T. Creswell, the inaugural African American member of the Nashville Public School board. His daughter, Carol Creswell, still visits the school for events. Creswell offers six vibrant art conservatories: band, choir, dance, piano, theatre, and visual art. Students take two arts conservatory classes the entire school year, allowing them to receive an in-depth arts education. Creswell has prioritized a move toward a fully arts-integrated school, as their academic classes incorporate art with help from the school’s arts integration specialist and community members. They host a weekly, school-wide meeting called “Artful Thinking” in which students analyze artwork and performances for a project that connects them to the community. They have hosted collaborative sessions with the Air Force Band and the Yeli Ensemble from Guinea, and their student art has been featured on WeGo benches across Nashville and in the annual Southwest Airlines Repurpose with Purpose Exhibit. Music students have performed at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center with the Nashville Symphony for Let Freedom Sing concerts, and the We Are Nashville choral festival and have collaborated with Intersection Contemporary Music Ensemble and National Museum of African American Music. Students have worked with singer/songwriter Kyshona Armstrong and artist Elisheba Mrozik, and their projects have been exhibited in the Taylor Swift Gallery at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
The Stewarts Creek Fine Arts Academy offers a conservatory-level arts education within Stewarts Creek High School, giving students a focused study in the arts while enjoying the benefits of a comprehensive, public high school. The spirit of collaboration between students and their arts teachers has become a visible and foundational part of the school culture. With kindergarten through twelfth grade students on the same campus, collaboration between the elementary, middle, and high school students provides students with not only sequential learning in the arts, but a growing love for creating and performing. Students receive top-notch instruction in traditional courses like art, theatre, and music, but they also have access to courses in songwriting, printmaking, technical theatre, guitar, and mixed media. Situated in Rutherford County, Tennessee, where the arts account for $52.4 million a year in economic activity, students regularly collaborate with Career and Technical Education classes, such as broadcasting and recording. In visual art, several students have received Scholastic Art Awards including the National Gold Medal Award. Theatre students have received multiple All-State theatre designations. A guitar student had the lyrics of one of her original songs performed at Vince Gill and Keith Urban’s “All-for-the-Hall” benefit concert in Nashville. Choral and instrumental ensembles have been honored and showcased at the Tennessee Music Educators Association conference, and many musicians have been selected for the Nashville Symphony’s Accelerando program.
