PPE History

Percy Priest Historical Background

For nearly five decades, involvement from stakeholders - parents, teachers, students, and administrators - has defined Percy Priest School. From the 1958 Fathers' Club Benefit to fund the first playground to the 2009 Priest-A-Palooza fundraiser, the stakeholders of the school have worked together to promote and support the school and its programs.

Percy Priest opened its doors in September 1957 as a K-6 school. The school was dedicated in April 1958 to the memory of U.S. Representative J. Percy Priest, a Tennessee congressman who served for 16 years until his death in 1956. Priest had begun his career as a teacher and consistently supported education during his years on Capitol Hill. While in office he established the National Science Foundation and the Federal Courthouse. He served as the party "whip" and never lost an election.

The late 1970s and early 1980s saw student populations declining throughout Metro Nashville schools, largely due to court-ordered busing to promote desegregation. The Green Hills/ Forest Hills neighborhoods zoned for Percy Priest were no exception, and the school's numbers continued to drop. The school district population also cycled through a period where fewer children lived in the district. These changes presented a challenge for the school's stakeholders. The closing of nearby schools, Woodmont and Burton, temporarily elevated the enrollment at Percy Priest.

By the fall of 1982, the declining enrollment at Percy Priest had reached serious levels. At that point, 204 students made up the entire population for grades Kindergarten through sixth. Percy Priest School was under serious consideration for closing because of its low enrollment and dismal prospect for new students. The school lost its Kindergarten program for a year during this period.

Within days of realizing the possibility of the closing of Percy Priest's doors, the school's stakeholders swung into action. The staff, Principal Dorothy Butler, the PTA Board, parents, and supportive neighbors created an enthusiastic team to revitalize the school and to claim as its mission a quick, strong increase in enrollment.

Parents and teachers blanketed area preschools with flyers about Percy Priest School. Teachers phoned prospective parents to tell them about the school, its philosophies, and its programs. This team set out to reclaim its school by literally campaigning door-to-door for parents to send their children to Percy Priest for Kindergarten. The popular "Kindergarten Round-Up" Open House event began during this critical time to allow parents to come in and see the school with their children. Open houses were initially held during the school day and later also in the evening to attract as many parents as possible.

Although these efforts were helpful, the most critical factor in reviving the school was targeting the one need parent had most: before and after school day care. The team sponsored fundraisers to initiate a daycare program run by a parent board. The fundraisers paid for daycare insurance and secured a caregiver to run the program. Communicating the availability of a daycare program to prospective parents dramatically increased school enrollment.

The school began hosting Open Houses for different grade levels. Communication between the school and parents became well established through open house presentations, newsletters, phone calls, musical programs, and annual family picnics. The partnership Percy Priest began experiencing with parents expanded to a community partnership as well. Southwestern/ Great American adopted Percy Priest as its Pencil Partner. They began donating book sets to the school each six weeks to award children with academic excellence. Called "Rising Stars" today, those donations now honor students selected by their peers and teachers for excellence in character, effort, and citizenship, as well as academics. The City of Forest Hills also donated $50,000 to the school to buy new playground equipment.
The school became a K-4 school in 1985.

Parents became increasingly more critical to the success of the school. At various times, they volunteered to teach art and music classes and as well as tutoring students. They raised funds for a computer lab with a technology teacher, a music teacher, an art teacher, art supplies and a teacher's aide. Following the school's choice to become a site-based management school, the PTA and the Participatory Leadership Team together raised money to create a hands-on science lab. On the science lab's opening night, numerous children and their parents attended and donated gifts to the lab - enough consumable materials for a full year of science! A parent, Pat Waldo, generously volunteered her time, energy, and talents to run the lab and to work with teachers in planning class science experiments. Ms. Waldo managed this superb science lab until the spring of 1999. Currently, the lab operates under the direction of a lab coordinator whose position is funded by what is now the Percy Priest PTO. The PTA was changed to a PTO when parents and staff members desired that funds raised by the school be more locally governed.

The Participatory Leadership Team comprised of teachers, parents, and the principal, wrote a grant and received $200,000 from the 21st Century Computer program. Ten classrooms were equipped with computers. Teacher Donna High initiated a program of grocery certificate sales through Kroger & H.G. Hills, along with the Kids Now Coupon Book (now called the Entertainment Book), to raise money for classrooms to be equipped with computers and served as the school's technology teacher, funded again by the PTA in 1997. This program is now managed by the PTO and has raised over $600,000 for various school technological resources.

The "Invest in Your Child" campaign, through generous parent contributions, continues to raise thousands of dollars annually for the school and its students, and is the primary fundraiser to this day. Items purchased with Invest monies include: two additional school assistants, classroom supplies and materials, musical instruments, art supplies, hundreds of library books, P.E. equipment, building maintenance and landscaping, science lab equipment, a full-time nurse for the clinic, a Science instructor, and additional professional development opportunities for teachers. Proceeds from the newly initiated fundraiser in 2004, called the Spring Sing Auction Thing, brought in enough revenue to purchase a mobile computer lab complete with 25 laptops for instructional use beginning this school year.

Every three years, the PTO engages in a long-range planning process in which all parents are invited to participate. Through an extensive survey of parents and staff members, and a nominal group process, areas of school Improvement are identified and ranked by most urgent needs. This process includes discussion groups and a Town Hall meeting. That ranking translates into action plans for the PTO and its Board of Managers for the next three years.

In 2002, a wing was added due to the phenomenal growth of the school. This wing includes an art room, seven classrooms, and a large playroom.

In the winter of 2002, the MNPS Board of Education determined that enough seats were available at Percy Priest to allow it become an optional enrollment school, while still serving the students within the school zone. Parents from all over Nashville were given the opportunity to apply for enrollment at Percy Priest through a lottery drawing. Student numbers and building capacity were closely studied by the Board to determine the number of students from outside the zone that could be added to the school population. For the 2003-04 school year, Percy Priest Elementary opened its doors as a combination choice and zone school. The school now operates at full capacity with waiting lists of students who desire to attend here at every grade level.

In 2006, with a strong enrollment of 465 students, including students selected through lottery from all over Davidson County, we are fortunate to have an outstanding, well-established school of choice with a continuing broad base of support. Although facing challenges is constant and inevitable, the students benefit daily from the partnership that, out of dire necessity, emerged years ago among teachers, parents, students, and administration that continues naturally today. Percy Priest School has thrived because of the creativity, devotion, and perseverance of countless individuals - we are proud of that tradition, and it makes us who we are.

Community Characteristics
The Percy Priest Elementary school zone encompasses 23.78 miles in a long narrow stretch of south and central Nashville, Tennessee. The Green Hills, Forest Hills, and Edgehill neighborhoods are all within our zone, but our boundaries stretch even further with 13% of our students attending through the lottery. Lottery students come from all areas of the city, including Hermitage, Bellevue, and Goodlettsville. Approximately 3000 school-age children live within the school zone, though a large number (57%) attend one of the 24 area private schools, especially in grades 9-12.

The city of Forest Hills that surrounds Percy Priest School has historically been highly involved with the school. They funded a major portion of an $80,000 playground and recently completed a bike path throughout the neighborhood, which has been enjoyed by numerous parents and students, as well as providing safer means for walkers and bicycle riders to and from school.

A unique characteristic of Percy Priest Elementary School is its status as a school of choice. For 2007-08, approximately 20% of the student population was comprised of students who enrolled through the lottery process and who live throughout Metropolitan Nashville and Davidson County. These families provide their own transportation for their children to attend Percy Priest, some traveling from as far as 20 miles away. The 2011-12 school year brings the lottery to an end at Percy Priest. Popularity with zoned families has eliminated spots for lottery students.

Percy Priest School also works with various community organizations through Hands-On Nashville, grade level art shows, Junior Achievement presentations, Boy and Girl Scouts, Girls on the Run Nashville, and WNSL Winter Basketball League.