Elite Nashville Girls School Will Pause Policy That Would Have Allowed Boys to Attend

A little more than a week after Harpeth Hall, an elite high school for girls in Nashville, said it would admit any student who identified as a girl, the school has at least temporarily reversed course.

“Last week, the Harpeth Hall Board of Trustees shared with current parents and school alumnae a gender diversity philosophy, which was intended to offer clarity about how the school approaches gender identity at Harpeth Hall,” said a letter simply addressed to the Harpeth Hall community.

“We recognize that this philosophy elicited a strong reaction of support and opposition beyond our expectations,” the letter says. “We care deeply about your feedback, and we have heard you. Based on the responses from our school community, the Harpeth Hall Board of Trustees is choosing to pause the adoption of the philosophy in order to engage a wider audience in continued discussion.”

The letter says that the school does not wish to make any changes to its admissions practices, despite the fact that it struck an opposite tune just weeks ago.

In the first letter discussing the new gender diversity policy, the school said the following:

Harpeth Hall acknowledges the developmental journey of each student and recognizes that adolescence includes natural searching and questioning about many topics. For some students, this may include the question of gender identity and the desire to identify as nonbinary or use they/them pronouns.

Harpeth Hall approaches gender identity with understanding and open communication, rather than with shame or othering, and will provide a safe environment to partner with each student and family to consider the needs and requests of the student on an individual basis….(Excerpt from The Tennessee Star)