Tennessee School for the Blind

Tennessee School for the Blind
Location
115 Stewarts Ferry Pike

, ,
37214

United States
Information
TypeK-12 Public School
PrincipalJamie Ballard
Staff29.00 (FTE)[1]
Enrollment127[1] (2022-23)
Student to teacher ratio4.38[1]
ColorsRoyal blue and gold
    [2]
NicknameTigers[2]
Website[1]

Tennessee School for the Blind (Braille: ⠠⠠⠠⠞⠢⠰⠎⠑⠑⠀⠎⠡⠕⠕⠇⠀⠿⠀⠮⠀⠃⠇⠠⠄, TSB, ⠞⠎⠃) is a K–12 public school for blind children in Donelson, Nashville, Tennessee.[3] First founded as a small private school in 1843 by Reverend James Champlin, it was soon established as a state school for the blind in 1844. It is overseen by the Tennessee Department of Education.

History

From 1944 to 1965, Black students attended the Tennessee School for the Blind at the Rolling Mill Hill campus at 88 Hermitage Avenue, just south of downtown Nashville. White students continued to study at the Claiborne House until 1952, when a new campus was constructed on the Clover Bottom Farm in Donelson, TN. The State of Tennessee purchased the Clover Bottom Farm in 1949 and set aside acreage for the construction of the new campus.[4]

When the school racially integrated in 1965, about 30 Black students integrated with about 150 white students at the Clover Bottom campus, leaving the Rolling Mill Hill campus empty.[5] An alumnus, Ralph Brewer, stated that he did not recall problems that occurred as a result of desegregation.[5]

The State of Tennessee continued to own the disused Rolling Mill Hill campus. Alumni of the Tennessee School for the Blind argued for preserving the building after the Nashville Metropolitan government made a proposal to demolish it with the intention to build the Nashville School of the Arts on the property.[5] In 2017 the Tennessee Historical Commission ruled that it was eligible to be a historic property. Historic Nashville Inc. made efforts to help preserve the property.[6]

Campus

The school has dormitory facilities.[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Tennessee School for the Blind". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Tennessee School for the Blind". Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
  3. ^ "Tennessee School for the Blind". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  4. ^ "History of Clover Bottom". www.tn.gov. Retrieved March 13, 2026.
  5. ^ a b c Hubbard, Alex (November 2, 2018). "Don't let the history of the Tennessee School for the Blind be forgotten | Opinion". The Tennessean. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  6. ^ Mazza, Sandy (October 25, 2018). "'Nashville Nine' most endangered historic properties announced". The Tennessean. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  7. ^ "Residential Students". Tennessee School for the Blind. Retrieved June 25, 2021.

Further reading

36°10′03″N 86°39′14″W / 36.1676°N 86.6538°W / 36.1676; -86.6538