Steps to Educate & Protect Students

Since 2019, University School of Nashville has worked with Authentic Connections to assess twice yearly the health, well-being, and community life of USN High School students through scientific surveys. We began monitoring our faculty health and well-being data in 2020 and added our Middle School students in 2023. That qualitative data is evaluated, compared with results of those at other high-achieving schools, and used to inform and guide USN's student and parent programming, including some shared below.

In 2019, USN High School started with the Green Dot program, a culturally responsive intervention used at many college and university campuses to promote safe, healthy, and engaged communities. The school transitioned in 2022 to active bystander education for HS students, faculty, and staff to learn about how to use the four bystander intervention strategies (direct, distract, delegate, and delay) when they see things that do not reflect the school’s culture. MS faculty and staff received training in 2023 to model being an active bystander for their students in grades 5-8, who began a modified active bystander intervention program in spring 2024. This training helps keep students and their peers safe.


High School Grade Level Programs
Human Sexuality Seminars are a multi-installment series of workshops led by community partners, scholars, and practitioners on topics including health dating & relationships, boundaries, consent, and social media & dating.

• Startup Series: Active Bystander Training, Part I
• Project SAFE: Language of Violence with Dr. Otis McGresham
• Common Mental Health Disorders and Self Care with Dr. Patrick Michaels

• Active Bystander Training, Part 2
• Human Sexuality Seminars: Planned Parent session on healthy relationships
• You Have the Power on consent
• How to Help a Friend and Types of Help Available with Dr. Eboni Webb

• SHAPE presentation about sexual assault

• Project Safe: Sexual Assault on College Campuses with Dr. Otis McGresham

• Comprised of four High School students, the Student Mental Health Coalition aims to educate and inform the student body by discussing, researching, and raising awareness about mental well-being by hosting HS Assemblies and lunch & learns and sharing informational flyers around the Edgehill Campus. 
• Sexual Harassment Advocate and Prevention Educators, better known as SHAPE, strives to educate students about sexual harassment and assault in order to promote awareness among HS students. Founded by HS students in 2022, the group focuses on leading presentations, sharing flyers, starting important conversations, and hosting guest speakers like the Sexual Assault Center.
• Peer Educators and Assistants, known as PEAs, are a selected group of sophomores, juniors, and seniors who have class weekly to discuss current events and bring what they learn to the USN community to educate classmates on pertinent issues.