A Quick History of NSA with Mrs. Naomi

If you were to ask any student of Nashville School of the Arts who they think defines the school, some might say Jeremy, some might say Dr. Thomas, but the answer you’d get from every student who’s heard her yell across the lunchroom would be Mrs. Naomi without a second thought. She’s a beloved icon among the students for her attitude and demeanor; many students even consider her “The Queen of NSA.” She's been here for ages and she knows the history inside and out, so Simeon Page and I conducted an interview to learn more about the history of NSA from the queen herself.

I began the recording. “Hello, my name is Terry Cook, I’m here with Simeon Page, and today we’re going to be interviewing Mrs. Naomi on the history of NSA.”

Mrs. Naomi cleared her throat. “Hello, I am Mrs. Naomi, and I consider myself the mother of NSA and the mother of all my beautiful students.” It was no secret that she knew she was beloved, and she made it very clear that she loved us back. Our first question was asking when she first joined NSA, and we learned that she joined during the 2005-2006 school year, so she’s been here for 19 years. We also learned that NSA had moved into this building over 10 years after it was founded.

When asked about initial challenges in keeping the school running, Mrs. Naomi stated that NSA was originally not accepted by others as a public school. “The biggest challenge was getting other people outside of our school to accept us as a public school. I mean, yes, we were a magnet school, but we were still a public school, and they thought of the children as being different.”

The principal at the time of Mrs. Naomi’s joining of NSA’s name was Bob Wilson, and from the way Mrs. Naomi describes him, it seems like he was a very sweet and personable man, perfect for the students of NSA.

When asked about him, Mrs. Naomi exclaimed, “He was... magnificent.” She let out this sort of nostalgic sigh when she said “magnificent,” like she looked up to him in some way. “He loved the children, he loved the school, he loved the staff, he was a man who involved himself with what was going on in the school. He made the school the way that it was because he allowed the children to be themselves.” Mrs. Naomi remembered specifically his profound connection with and love for the students. We also learned that he had passed away a little over a year before the interview. Mrs. Naomi says she would have loved for us to meet him.

We warned Mrs. Naomi that the next few questions were on more negative and sensitive topics, but she was unfazed. We first asked her to recall a time when the school’s safety was threatened; it seemed like the school had a reasonably good track record with avoiding external threats.

Mrs. Naomi scratched her neck in thought, “I can’t remember a time, not really, when the school’s safety was threatened while I was here. Have we had fights? Yeah, maybe about 5 or 6 fights in all 19 years I’ve been here, we’ve had squabbles, but as for outside threats, I cannot recall one.” I was surprised by her statement of there being only 5 or 6 fights in 19 years, as I’ve only been here for a year and a half and I can recall at least 3 off the top of my head.

We then asked about any students who have been expelled and why they were expelled. She stated that “we’ve had several expelled, probably one or two a year since I’ve been here, maybe not every year, but usually it’s because of drugs.” Not surprising, drugs have almost always been the primary issue where disciplinary actions were needed. Mrs. Naomi continued, “I think that’s our number one problem, and it’s the same with many schools, usually that’s why our children get expelled, because of drugs.” This statement reinforced my original thinking.

After that, we wanted to know if Mrs. Naomi ever considered leaving NSA for any particular reason? Her answer was very surprising, but it came out with lots of integrity.

Mrs. Naomi furrowed her eyebrows at the question, “Never, I would never. I can’t think of anything that would make me leave this school.”

“Period,” I responded. I was particularly touched by that sentiment. Our next questions were going to be more lighthearted and open-ended. We first asked a question that we knew many students wanted to know: Does NSA need a mascot? If so, what should it be? When asked, she stated that mascots are usually centered around sports, and our football players play for the Stratford Spartans, not NSA.

Mrs. Naomi continued with, “We have so many arts so it’s really hard to say but I guess I’ve always thought of our school as the best on the planet. So, to me, maybe a big planet.” I didn’t want to lie and say I liked that idea because even though I didn’t, it was really sweet.

I moved to the next question, “What is some NSA history that you think every student should know?” I asked.

Mrs. Naomi laughed a little before her answer. “Well, I think every student should know that we are in a building that needs a lot of work done to it,” clearly, “but that we all pull together to make this school what it is, which is one of the things especially that I feel like every student should know, no matter what grade you're in. This school has always had a very strong support team to be there for every student.” The school’s recent history doesn’t extend much past the rough nature of the building, but I suppose that’s part of the charm, albeit a charm that I hope future students don’t have to deal with. (Read about updates for a new building in this quarter's articles, "An Interview with Dr. Thomas on our New Building: "It's going to be world-class."and "A Permanent Home for NSA- 30 Years in the Making.")

The next question was one that I was especially curious about. “How have all the conservatories changed over time?” I was particularly wondering which conservatories even existed at the time, mainly because I wanted to know if people even knew that literary arts didn’t used to exist.

Mrs. Naomi thought for a good few seconds about her answer. “Well, they really haven’t changed. Basically, the dancers are still dancing, the guitar players are still playing guitar. We’ve gotten better, because over the years we’ve gotten upgrades. Things our students need to present their art, just like our new art gallery. When I first came here, they didn’t get to put their art out. Maybe a few things on the wall. But I’d say we haven’t really changed, we‘ve just gotten better.” It is nice seeing the art gallery get put up in real time.

We had one last question and we figured we’d give Mrs. Naomi full freedom for this one. “Alright, last question, if you were in charge, what changes would you make to NSA?”

She scratched the back of her neck. “The only change I think I would make if it was in my power would be to give us a new building because really and truly I honestly think NSA, the staff, administration, students, I think we are all doing a great job to make our school what it is,” she exclaimed.

We ended the interview and told Mrs. Naomi what all the students were thinking: We appreciate her with all our hearts.