ANNOUNCING

THE TAA 2024 ARTS RICH

SCHOOLS OF THE YEAR

Three Tennessee schools have been honored by the Tennessee Arts Academy Foundation as "2024 TAA Arts Rich Schools of the Year" for their exceptional commitment to arts education. 

The Winning Schools: 

The Bright School

Chattanooga, TN

2024 TAA Arts Rich Elementary School of the Year

Isaiah T. Creswell Middle Magnet School of the Visual & Performing Arts

Metro Nashville Public Schools, Nashville, TN

2024 TAA Arts Rich Middle School of the Year

Stewarts Creek High School 

Rutherford County Schools, Smyrna, TN

2024 TAA Arts Rich High School of the Year

Stephen Coleman, president of the Tennessee Arts Academy Foundation, said, "We are proud to recognize these schools for their diverse range of fine arts offerings, outstanding quality, and dedication to nurturing creativity. They have enriched their community and serve as a model for schools everywhere."

Each of the three winning schools will receive public recognition and a cash award at the Tennessee Arts Academy's Bravo! Awards Banquet and Performance on July 17, 2024 on the campus of Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. Special guest star, Broadway’s Mandy Gonzalez (Hamilton, Wicked), will perform and Jerry Zaks, four-time Tony Award-winning Broadway director, will receive the TAA Distinguished Service Award.  

Seven TAA Schools of Merit will also be recognized for their outstanding arts education programs and accomplishments. The Schools of Merit are: Arlington High School, Arlington, TN; Collierville High School, Collierville, TN; Franklin High School, Franklin, TN; Mill Creek Middle School, Nolensville, TN; Rozelle Optional Elementary for Creative and Performing Arts, Memphis, TN; St. George's Independent School, Collierville, TN; Union Elementary STEAM & Demonstration School, Gallatin, TN.

Beyond the awards, the TAA Foundation Board will showcase the winning schools as diverse models of what an arts rich curriculum may look like in communities across the state. Videos from each winning school will be made available to view on the TAA website. The hope is that through continued media coverage and exposure throughout the year following the award, other schools will be motivated to create their own plans to become an arts rich school.

The Tennessee Arts Academy's Arts Rich School Program and Awards was established to celebrate and recognize innovative and resourceful schools that provide arts rich educational curricula and programming for their students and the communities in which they live. Applications from schools across Tennessee were evaluated based on criteria including program breadth, student participation, access to high quality staffing, and community involvement. A diverse committee of educators designed the assessment and scoring rubric to allow all schools, regardless of the grade levels, numbers of students, or communities in which they reside to be assessed impartially, equitably, and fairly.  

Kami Lunsford, Director of the TAA Arts Rich Program and Awards said, "Over 25 experienced and award-winning reviewers from across Tennessee, Illinois, North Carolina, Kentucky, and Florida scored the applications. They were able to see the kind of top notch arts education going on in Tennessee schools, and it made us all extremely proud!"

The Tennessee Arts Academy Foundation is the support arm of the Tennessee Arts Academy, the nation’s premier professional development program for K–12 arts education. For thirty-eight years, the Academy has offered world-class instruction, community, and renewal to the arts teachers it serves. The more than 325 educators who attend the Academy during its annual summer institute, directly impact more than 200,000 Tennessee students (nearly 20% of the state’s K–12 student population) the following school year alone. Arts educators trained at the Tennessee Arts Academy are better equipped and motivated to serve their students, significantly raise achievement levels, and effect positive and lasting change in classrooms throughout the state and nation. 

For more information about the "TAA Arts Rich School of the Year" Program and Awards or the Tennessee Arts Academy, please visit www.tnartsacademy.org or contact TAA directly by email at taa@belmont.edu or by telephone at 615-460-5451.

Read on for more information about the three

2024 TAA Arts Rich Schools of the Year

2024 TAA Arts Rich Elementary School of the Year

The Bright School

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.

2024 TAA Arts Rich Middle School of the Year

Isaiah T. Creswell Middle Magnet School of the Visual & Performing Arts

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.

2024 TAA Arts Rich High School of the Year

Stewarts Creek High School

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.

Broadway Star Joshua Henry Engages the TAA Crowd at the 2023 Bravo Awards Banquet

"Everything about the Arts Academy is unparalleled and excellent, from the communication to the quality of instruction. Every year I find myself energized by the quality of instruction and fellow participants. There is no comparable arts education experience anywhere."

- Kell Christie, West TN

TAA 2023 Upper Middle/Secondary Theatre Participant

Tennessee Arts Academy

In Memoriam

The Tennessee Arts Academy seeks to honor teachers who have passed away during the 2023-2024 school year. An In Memoriam section will appear in our Friday Finale Luncheon program. If you would like to submit the name of a colleague or teacher please complete the form linked below.

Academy Essentials

 What You Need To Know



WHO, WHEN, AND WHERE: The Tennessee Arts Academy is held on the campus of Belmont University in Nashville on July 14-19, 2024. The Academy is designed for K-12 arts specialists, elementary classroom teachers, librarians, pre-service college education majors, and school administrators.

WHAT: Intensive discipline-specific training, nationally renowned speakers and performers, unique interdisciplinary workshops, and a host of fun and festive special events are all part of the TAA schedule.

FEES: The registration fee is only $449.00. On-campus housing is available for a nominal additional fee.

REGISTRATION INFO: Click here to apply for the 2024 Academy. First-time applicants receive priority acceptance. Regular registration continues through the end of June or until classes have been filled.

Don't miss the 2024 Tennessee Arts Academy! 

It is a life-changing and awe-inspiring week.

TAA MISSION STATEMENT

The mission of the Tennessee Arts Academy is to provide exceptional quality professional development, arts training, support, encouragement, information and renewal to K-12 teachers and to promote and honor the role of the arts in the lives of all Tennesseans.

The Tennessee Arts Academy is a project of the

Tennessee Department of Education and is funded under a grant contract with the State of Tennessee.

Major corporate, organizational, and individual funding support

for the Tennessee Arts Academy Foundation in 2024 is generously provided by:

Significant sponsorship, scholarship, and event support for the

Tennessee Arts Academy Foundation in 2024 is generously provided by:

Madeline and David Bridges; Marion and Stephen Coleman; Rena Ellzy; Morel Enoch; Solie Fott; Bobby Jean Frost, in memory of Donna Frost; Dorothy M. Gillespie Foundation; HCA Healthcare/TriStar Health; Jim Holcomb; Patricia A. Hudson; Ron and Karen Meers; Michael Meise; Pinnacle Financial Partners; Amy Savell, in memory of Sara and Las Savell; J. Tabor Stamper; Tennessee Book Company; Theatrical Rights Worldwide; Jeanette and Bill Watkins; Watkins College of Art at Belmont University; and Talmage Watts.

The Tennessee Arts Academy is funded in part by

Metro Arts / Nashville Office of Art + Culture. 

Special thanks to the Robert K. & Anne H. Zelle Fund for the Fine and Performing

Arts of The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee for their

funding support for the 2024 Tennessee Arts Academy programs.

Help Support TAA by purchasing a Tennessee Specialty License Plate. A percentage of the proceeds from the sale of Tennessee Specialty Plates goes directly to the Tennessee Arts Commission, which in turn, provides grants to the Tennessee Arts Academy. Click here to learn more about the Specialty License Plate program. Buy one today!