Thursday, March 25, 2010
Education / Silverman East Academy Benefit Concert Friday, March 26, With Tommy Sims and More
Posted by Jack Silverman on Thu, Mar 25, 2010 at 12:47 PM
For most of us, the term "private school" brings to mind images of mostly white institutions where privileged students play field hockey and lacrosse after school and hang out at the country club on weekends. But that's not the case at East Nashville's East Academy, where more than 60 percent of students receive some sort of tuition assistance. In fact, even the full tuition doesn't come near covering the expenses for a student's education.
Why don't they raise tuition, you ask? Because one of the school's missions, in addition to preparing K-8 students for high school and college, is to make education as affordable as possible to encourage a diverse student body. And East Academy is about as diverse a school -- racially, socioeconomically, culturally, religiously -- as you're likely to find in Nashville.
Private donations are the key to keeping tuition at the school affordable, and to keeping financial assistance readily available. And to that end, on Friday, March 26, the school is presenting a benefit concert at Douglas Corner featuring Tommy Sims, Darnell Levine, Drew Ramsey, Jason Eskridge, Boot Hill & the Paramount Ship and more.
Bassist, songwriter and producer Sims, by the way, wrote a little song you may have heard of: Eric Clapton's "Change the World." Levine and Eskridge both traverse the line between pop and soul, and the latter has provided studio vocals for the likes of Lyle Lovett and Randy Travis. Ramsey has played guitar on tracks by both CeCe and BeBe Winans as well as Michael McDonald. Boot Hill & the Paramount Ship are an up-and-coming indie-pop duo.
You can keep up with East Academy benefits and other developments at the new blog started by Friends of East Academy, a group that focuses on fundraising efforts for the school. Other upcoming events include a Jonell Mosser show April 29 at Station Inn and a pancake breakfast at the school May 1. Stay tuned to the blog for more details.
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