Academies Of Nashville Director Donna Gilley Retires

Press release from the Metro Nashville Public Schools:

When Donna Gilley started teaching business classes in Room 144 of Glencliff High School in 1990, she had no way of knowing she would finish her career 30 years later as director of the Academies of Nashville and career and technical education for Metro Nashville Public Schools.

But it didn’t take her long to realize the benefits of having students learn in a way that introduced them to the local business community so they could get a better sense of the jobs they might do one day.

“We had a vision of working with partners,” Gilley said in an interview back in her old classroom earlier this month. “The biggest thing was to show kids how what they learned here is applied in the business world. We were building what we’re now living.”

“What we’re now living” are the Academies of Nashville, which bring thousands of students at MNPS’s 12 zoned high schools into contact with business partners every year through an internationally known initiative that helps young people discover the kind of work they might – or might not – want to do a few years down the line. Thanks to dozens of local companies, each school has two to four academies with themes ranging from business and innovation at Glencliff to health and electrical services at Maplewood to art, design and communication at Hillwood.

After helping dream up the Academies 15 years ago and leading their work since they began, Gilley will retire Dec. 31, though she’ll keep a hand in MNPS’s work as part-time manager of a $7 million career readiness grant Nashville recently received from JPMorgan Chase.

“Donna’s work with the Academies of Nashville has changed Metro Nashville Public Schools in ways that have opened up new possibilities and new dreams for countless students,” Director of Schools Dr. Adrienne Battle said.

“The Academies’ ongoing success wouldn’t have been possible without Donna’s energy, her vision and her passion for connecting young people to opportunity. We’ll miss her in that role, but we’re thrilled that she’ll still be a part of Team MNPS and still serving our students, our schools and our community,” Dr. Battle added.

Gilley said she worked on “pocket academies” at Glencliff in the 1990s, starting with one that automaker Ford helped create in manufacturing science. But those were isolated programs. By 2005, she and others in the school district and the business community were thinking about what an MNPS graduate should look like and how they could redesign high schools to get that result. They won a U.S. Department of Education grant to help kickstart the implementation.

Local & National Success

Less than 10 years later, the Academies of Nashville had already been so successful and widely admired that President Barack Obama came to McGavock High School in January 2014 to sing their praises.

“The idea is simple but powerful: Young people are going to do better when they're excited about learning, and they're going to be more excited if they see a connection between what they're doing in the classroom and how it is applied,” Obama said that day. “... The math that I'm doing here, this connects to the business that’s going on out there. The graphic design I'm doing here, I am learning now what that means in terms of marketing or working for a company that actually gets paid to do this, which means I might get paid to do it. And I'm seeing people who may open up for me entire new career options that I didn’t even realize.”

More than 6,000 people have visited the Academies from around the world, including a virtual visit by educators from the United Kingdom since the COVID-19 pandemic began, Gilley said.

Gilley’s own career has involved some of the trial and error she wants students to be able to experience before they get their high school diploma.

Connection and Impact

After growing up in the small town of Spencer in East Tennessee and then graduating from Belmont University, where she met and wound up working for legendary entrepreneur Jack Massey, she went into state government. But she found the work “boring” and started substitute teaching, which lit the right light bulb for her.

She sees the Academies doing the same thing for students year after year.

“The Academies allow space for all kids to be special,” Gilley said. “The Academies provide hope.”

Melissa Jaggers, president and CEO of Alignment Nashville, which helped bring together business partners to create the Academies 15 years ago and still works closely with MNPS on the Academies and other projects, called Gilley “one of the hardest-working educators I have ever known.”

“She genuinely connects with every student, every teacher, every business partner, every person she meets; her authenticity and dedication to students shine through everything she does,” Jaggers said. “The Academies of Nashville are stronger because of Donna's talents and passion, and she has had a positive impact on thousands of students' lives. I'm proud to call Donna my friend, my colleague and my mentor, and I am grateful for her influence on my life.” 

This press release was produced by the Metro Nashville Public Schools. The views expressed are the author's own.