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Nashville Big Picture High School
1625 Dr. D.B. Todd, Jr. Blvd
Nashville, TN 37208
(615) 329-8180
School Begins at 9:00am and Ends at 3:30pm.
What Is A Big Picture School?
Nashville Big Picture High School (NBPHS) offers a rigorous, highly-personalized curriculum that combines academic work with real-world experiences and project-based learning. Students, many of whom have managed to go unnoticed through middle school, become active and accountable in their own education. Teachers, parents and professional mentors help design a challenging course of study, and school-based learning is combined with real-world work two full days a week in community organizations, agencies and businesses. Students at this new school are required to take all assessments required by No Child Left Behind.
Why Big Picture?
Most students do well in a traditional high school setting. However, we know there are many students who would do better in a smaller, more individualized program. NBPHS is one of several programs MNPS is offering to provide our students and their families choices regarding which educational approach is best for them.
How Is A Big Picture School Different?
- An individualized learning plan is tailored to meet rigorous educational standards while incorporating a student's unique needs and interests.
- An academically integrated internship takes students out into the community to do real work around their learning plans in closely accountable relationships with professional mentors.
- A 4-year advisory, a group of no more than 15 students who stay with the same teacher while in school, prevents anonymity and pushes students consistently toward higher standards of achievement.
- Students learn through individual projects. Portfolio assessment and quarterly exhibitions - dissertation-style defenses before a panel of teachers, parents, mentors and peers - take the place of traditional classroom tests.
- Strong partnerships with families and community organizations and businesses elevate individual and collective achievement.
NBPHS was created with the assistance of The Big Picture Company, a non-profit organization dedicated to a fundamental redesign of public schooling in America. The first Big Picture School is The Met, a public high school located in Providence, RI. There are more than 36 Big Picture schools operating in 12 states and three countries, with 18 additional schools planned to open by 2008.
While students are allowed to explore their interests in their studies and internships, they are also prepared for college -- completing a college application is one requirement of the school. On average, 99% of 2006 Big Picture school graduates were accepted to college, while 89% of them had enrolled for the fall by the time of graduation. Since its first graduating class in 2000, 98% of Met seniors have been accepted to college, most of whom are first-generation college-goers. A recent survey of graduates for the school shows that 74% of Met alumni who enrolled in college were either still there or had graduated.
How do I apply?
If you are interested in attending NBPHS, complete the application by clicking this link (Nashville Big Picture High School Application) and return it to the MNPS Customer Service Center, located at the Berry Road entrance to the Central Administration Building, 2601 Bransford Avenue. Seats in this school are filled on a first-come, first-served basis. You can also get an application by calling our MNPS Customer Service Center at (615) 259-INFO (4636).
Visit www.bigpicture.org for more information about the Big Picture experience.
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