Celebrating Lockeland Elementary

Lockeland Design Center: Small School with a Big History 
Posted on 02/21/2022
Lockeland Elementary entrance

“I’m right where I need to be.”   

That is how Kaci Scott feels about her role as a kindergarten teacher, her classroom adorned with colorful student work and her school, the one with the bright red doors in East Nashville.   child on climbing mural outside Lockeland

Lockeland Design Center may be a small school, but it has a big history.   

Led by Executive Principal Christie Lewis, a Metro Nashville Public Schools graduate, Lockeland is consistently recognized for exemplary student achievement, both statewide and nationally, and a focus on rigorous academics taught by nurturing and encouraging teachers.  

“As a graduate, I am honored to serve in the district where I was once a student,” Lewis says. “Our staff believes children in elementary school should be both nurtured and challenged, and the curriculum is carefully and thoughtfully balanced [to reflect that].”  

This is a sentiment that Scott, in her fifth year of teaching at Lockeland, echoes about her own kindergarten students – and the entire student body.   

“My students have taught me in so many different ways this year to open my own mind up,” she says. “So much thinking goes on in their little heads, and that goes all the way up to our fourth-grade students.”   

To ensure Every Student is Known, Lockeland teachers place a focus on social-emotional learning inside the classroom, right alongside academic teaching and learning. Since the March 2020 tornadoes that devastated East Nashville and the neighborhoods surrounding Lockeland (and caused some damage to the school itself) and the COVID-19 pandemic that closed all school buildings just a few days later, students have experienced a lot of disruption and change throughout the last two years.   Lockeland Elementary arched brick entrance

Now more than ever, making sure every child feels safe to express themselves is one of the school’s focuses. Throughout the school day, students are encouraged to think critically and independently and to use their own voice. Teachers and staff work together to differentiate student learning, through feedback and coaching, and intentional instructional decisions based on analyzing student data.   

“Students have a deep understanding of the materials they study, and it’s the relationships of our dedicated and talented teachers and staff, coupled with precious children and supportive parents, that help us succeed,” Lewis says.   

Scott and Lewis agree the teachers and staff are unique pieces of Lockeland’s success. Teachers work to support each other to create more meaningful learning experiences for students by conducting peer observations. This occurs when teachers rotate through each other’s classrooms and grade levels to observe lessons and student learning, providing supportive and encouraging feedback.  

Lockeland Design Center is a magnet school. If you are interested in learning more about Lockeland, visit the school website.    

Facts about Lockeland Design Center

  • All students take at least 30 minutes of Spanish instruction during the school day.   
  • Lockeland is a National Blue Ribbon School – a designation given by the U.S. Department of Education that represents the hard work of students, educators, families and school community striving for and attaining exemplary achievement.   
  • Lockeland is also a Tennessee Reward School, scoring in the top 5% of students in the state on the TNReady assessment. 
  • Their school mascot is a Lion, and the school colors are navy and yellow.
  • The school’s vision is: “We are Lockeland: giving choice, empowering individuals, promoting thinkers and problem solvers, creating community and inspiring a passion for learning.” 

 

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