Sarah.Englebert.Finalsite (talk | contribs) →History: Franklin Road Academy is a client of mine. They reached out to me stating the information that was added yesterday about the school’s involvement with segregation is completely inaccurate and slander. They asked the information be removed. |
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'''Franklin Road Academy''' ('''FRA''') is a private, college preparatory, co-educational, Christian school for students in grades Pre-K3-12. FRA was founded in 1971 as a [[segregation academy]] in response to the court ordered [[School integration in the United States|desegregation of public schools]]<ref name=“tn72”/>. |
'''Franklin Road Academy''' ('''FRA''') is a private, college preparatory, co-educational, Christian school for students in grades Pre-K3-12. FRA was founded in 1971 as a [[segregation academy]] in response to the court ordered [[School integration in the United States|desegregation of public schools]]<ref name=“tn72”/>. |
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==History== |
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{{seealso|Education segregation in Nashville}} |
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===The 1970s=== |
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Franklin Road Academy was founded in 1971 as a [[segregation academy]] in response to the court ordered [[School integration in the United States|racial integration of public schools]].<ref name=“tn72”>{{Cite news|url=|title=Private School Enrollments Up Sharply|last=O'hara|first=Jim|date=August 23, 1971|work=The Nashville Tennessean|access-date=|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|page=1|quote=The six schools that opened this fall in the wake of the controversy surrounding the federal court's bussing ruling appear to be enjoying remarkable popularity ... The six [schools] are ... Franklin Road Academy... The schools have been criticized by some parents and educators as an attempt to escape integration.}}</ref> FRA’s first mascot was the [[Confederate States Army|rebels]] and the school prominently flew the confederate flag.<ref name=ivey1980/> |
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In a 1980 retrospective interview, founder and headmaster Bill Bradshaw, recalled that, in the early 1970s, “escape from busing was probably definitely a factor” in the school’s intitial growth, but he denied that the school was established to avoid desegregation.<ref name=ivey1980>{{Cite news|url=|title=Private Schools nearly white|first=Sandra|last=Ivey|work=The Tennessean|access-date=|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|last2=Crowe|first2=Adell|date=August 6, 1980|page=15}}</ref> Bradshaw acknowledged that the school’s [[Modern display of the Confederate flag|Confederate inconography]] meant that blacks “may have thought” that they were unwelcome at the school, but that financial concerns were the main reason few black students enrolled. Bradshaw said a secondary reason for the lack of black of enrollment was the “proven” fact that blacks “have been inclined to stay in their own groups.”<ref name=ivey1980/> |
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===The 1980s=== |
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Appications to FRA tripled in 1980 after court rulings expanded [[desegregation busing]] in Nashville.<ref>{{cite news|first=Carl|last=Cluman|date=January 21, 1980|work=The Tennessean|location=Nashville|title=Bus plan brings application rush for private schools|page=59}}</ref> At the time, only one of Franklin Road’s 745 students was black.<ref name=ivey1980/> |
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In March 1981, the entire board of directors and headmaster Bill Bradshaw both resigned in a dispute with First Christian Church, which owned the building used by the school. Football coach Gene Andrews was appointed interim headmaster. <ref name="nt170315">{{cite news|last1=SHERBORNE|first1=ROBERT|title=Franklin Road Academy Returns To Normal; Accord Expected|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/112192333/|accessdate=15 December 2017|publisher=Nashville Tennessean|date=March 5, 1981|quote= Interim headmaster Gene Andrews ... was selected to run the school after its founder and former headmaster, Bill Bradshaw, as well as the school's board of directors, resigned Sunday night following a dispute with church leaders.}}</ref> On June 3, 1982, Franklin Road Academy became its own separate organization incorporated under the name Franklin Road Academy, Inc. Following its incorporation, FRA received accreditation from the [[Southern Association of Colleges and Schools]].{{fact|date=November 2017}} |
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In 1983, an anonymous donor provided funds to add a second floor to the high school for the creation of a [[middle school]]. Four years later, FRA raised $3 million through a capital campaign for the construction of a separate lower school (conventionally known as an [[elementary school]]). In 1988, the new lower school was dedicated as Danner Hall.<ref>{{Citation|title = 1980s | url = http://www.frapanthers.com/about%5Ffra/history/eighties.cfm| accessdate =2007-02-18 }}</ref>{{third-party inline|date=November 2017}} |
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===The 1990s=== |
===The 1990s=== |
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The school stopped flying the [[Confederate flag]] in 1991.<ref>{{citenews|first=Frank|last=Ritter|title=“Many spoke out on topic of values”|newspaper=The Tennessean|location=Nashville|date=May 24, 1992|page=5D}}</ref> Headmaster Bill Campbell said the flag was removed to ensure all students and visiting sports teams felt welcome and comfortable at the school.<ref>{{citenews|date=August 24, 1991|page=C1|newspaper=The Tennessean|first=Maurice|last=Patton|title=Frankin High planning to bring down rebel flag}}</ref> In a guest editorial in ''The Tennessean'', former FRA football coach and interim headmaster Gene Andrews criticized the change, accusing FRA of “turning its back on its heritage” and ignoring the sacrifices made in support of the “just cause” of southern independence.<ref>{{cite news|first=Gene|last=Andrews|title=Takes his stand for heritage — Ex-coach says Franklin Road Academy has betrayed its heritage by lowering the stars and bars|page=A11|location=Nashville|newspaper=The Tennessean|date=August 29, 1991}}</ref> |
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In 1997, FRA stopped using the [[Confederate States Army|''Rebels'']] as its athletics mascot. The school has begun to tone down use of the mascot in the early 1990s to make the school more welcoming to minorities. The FRA football coach told ''The Tennessean'' that the retirement of the mascot was partially because of the unease the [[Modern display of the Confederate flag|Confederate imagery]] caused to [[Dennis Harrison]], a former NFL player who was the first black assistant coach at the school.<ref>{{cite news|first=Jim|last=Wyatt|page=C1|newspaper=The Tennessean|location=Nashville|title=Rebel tag is history at FRA|date=July 24, 1997}}</ref> |
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In 1994, the George A. Volkert Athletic Complex was completed. Referred to as "The Hill" by students and faculty, the complex houses a football stadium, baseball stadium, tennis courts, a track, and a softball field. |
In 1994, the George A. Volkert Athletic Complex was completed. Referred to as "The Hill" by students and faculty, the complex houses a football stadium, baseball stadium, tennis courts, a track, and a softball field. |
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Revision as of 17:42, 2 January 2018
Franklin Road Academy | |
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Address | |
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4700 Franklin Pike , 37220 | |
Coordinates | 36°5′3″N 86°46′11″W / 36.08417°N 86.76972°W |
Information | |
Type | Independent coeducational college-preparatory |
Motto | "Building scholars with integrity and balance." |
Established | 1971 |
Accreditation | Southern Association of Independent Schools |
Head of school | Sean R. Casey |
Grades | PreK-12 |
Enrollment | 716 (2016[1]) |
Student to teacher ratio | 7:1 |
Campus size | 55 acres (22 ha) |
Color(s) | Blue and White |
Athletics conference | TSSAA - Division II-A |
Nickname | Panthers |
Newspaper | The Panther Post |
Yearbook | The Blueprint |
Website | www |
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Last updated: 1 January 2018 |
Franklin Road Academy (FRA) is a private, college preparatory, co-educational, Christian school for students in grades Pre-K3-12. FRA was founded in 1971 as a segregation academy in response to the court ordered desegregation of public schools[2].
The 1990s
In 1994, the George A. Volkert Athletic Complex was completed. Referred to as "The Hill" by students and faculty, the complex houses a football stadium, baseball stadium, tennis courts, a track, and a softball field.
During the 1990s, FRA partnered with IBM to give middle school students laptop computers. This early introduction of technology to middle school students turned out to be burdensome and was later discontinued.[citation needed][year needed]
In 1999, FRA completed a $7 million middle school and fine arts building. The three-story building houses approximately 300 students in the fifth through eighth grades in one building. The same building also features a theatre as well as two art rooms, a band room, a choir room, four practice rooms with pianos, and a dance studio.[3][third-party source needed]
The 2000s
In 2006-7 the school expanded and improved its campus in a $12 million project.[4] It acquired 12 acres (4.9 ha) of First Christian Church property, bringing the campus to 55 acres (22 ha).[5] It built a new math and science building of 26,300 square feet (2,440 m2) and a library and technology center of14,500 square feet (1,350 m2). The main school building was renovated to serve athletics and humanities. The new and renovated buildings form a central quadrangle). The school's original classrooms in the former church property were also renovated for foreign language classes. Moving the books into the new Library and Technology Center from the old library took a total of 4 days and the involvement of approximately 600 students.[6]
Athletics
The 2016 Franklin Road Academy baseball team won the DII-A state championship.[7] The baseball team also won state championships in 1984, 1988, and 2000.[7]
Notable alumni
- Will Wade, Head Basketball Coach of the Louisiana State University (LSU) men's basketball team [8]
- Mason Mingus, stock car racing driver[9]
Notes
- ^ "Private School Universe Survey". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
“tn72”
was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ 1990s, retrieved 2007-02-18
- ^ "Franklin Road Academy going for college look, feel", Nashville Business Journal, 2006-01-20
- ^ O'Brien, Erie (January 26, 2006), "Franklin Road Academy breaks ground on new facilities, quad", Green Hills News, p. 14
- ^ "Library Books Touch Students at Franklin Road Academy". News Channel 5, WTVF. 2006-12-18. Retrieved 2007-06-06.
- ^ a b "Franklin Road Academy wins DII-A state baseball title". The Tennessean. Retrieved 2017-11-15.
- ^ "Will Wade named LSU basketball coach". The Tennessean.
- ^ "Brentwood's Mason Mingus to race trucks at Daytona". The Tennessean.