From Bill Freeman

It was recently announced that Metro Nashville Public Schools’ director of schools Adrienne Battle has been selected as the 2022 Superintendent of the Year by the statewide organization Professional Educators of Tennessee. She’s the ideal recipient of this award, thanks to her successful record since taking the lead, and her genuine enthusiasm and concern for students, their families and their educators.

Dr. Battle was unanimously selected as Nashville’s next director of schools by our school board in March 2020, after working as interim director for the prior 11 months. During these past two years in her official capacity, Dr. Battle has shown herself more than capable. She steered MNPS through the disastrous March 2020 tornado that damaged a number of our public schools. She showed herself to be calm, courageous and strategic — all qualities of an exceptional leader. She has continued to exhibit these traits and lead our schools and students through the COVID-19 pandemic, a challenge even more extensive and disruptive than the tornado that preceded it. 

What strikes me most about Dr. Battle is her unique position as a graduate of our public school system and as an educator working for MNPS. It’s a mark of Nashville’s success that our public schools helped shape Dr. Battle into the leader she is today. 

As a student, she sat in the same classrooms as Nashville’s students do today. She competed on the same athletic fields as today’s MNPS student-athletes, she earned a college scholarship through the effort she put forth on the John Overton High School track team, and she stood at the same blackboards as many MNPS teachers do today. She shouldered the responsibility of leading schools as their principal. She doesn’t merely sympathize with the challenges facing our students and teachers; she empathizes as one of their own. 

Dr. Battle is at the helm of a particularly large public school district, with more than 80,000 students and more than 11,000 staff members. She has already shown that she emphasizes the basics of a good education, and she is also actively working toward innovation and achievement. The programs she has initiated during her tenure have already borne fruit, as MNPS has recently explained: “Dr. Battle has also proposed a series of changes that the Board of Education unanimously approved as a result of her Metro Schools ReimaginED initiative, which continues to review academic achievement data, current and projected enrollment, building use, programs and staffing to find new ways to improve academic outcomes for all students. She initiated Better Together, a joint venture with Nashville State Community College to create more and stronger pathways to college and career success for MNPS graduates.” 

When asked last year by the Scene’s sister publication Nfocus what traits she most admires in people, Dr. Battle said: “Professionally, it’s coachability. Personally, I love people who are nonjudgmental and can work and get along with everybody because they embrace diversity.” That spirit of cooperation is clearly evident in her work.

I also strongly agree with her answer to the next question posed to her in the Nfocus interview. When asked what she hopes never changes in Nashville, Dr. Battle replied: “I hope we don’t lose the small-town sense of connectedness we’ve felt through the years as the city continues to grow and thrive. And I hope we never lose touch with our history. There are a lot of important pioneers who paved the way for people like myself.” 

That small statement speaks volumes. Dr. Battle is committed to supporting and helping her hometown, she acknowledges the giants who came before her, and she is confidently shouldering the challenge of helping future generations grow into successful and well-educated adults. What more could we ask for? 

A hearty congratulations, Dr. Battle. 

Bill Freeman

Bill Freeman is the owner of FW Publishing, the publishing company that produces the Nashville Scene, Nfocus, the Nashville Post and Home Page Media Group in Williamson County.