From the Desk of of the Head of School - February 2, 2018

Dear Harding Academy Community,

Harding Academy has been blessed over the years with incredible teachers. As I have said many times before, they are the heartbeat of this place and the key to our ability to consistently deliver that perfect balance of challenge and nurture. For one of these teachers, this will be her last year in the classroom after a forty-year career in independent school education.

Mary Prue Alley will retire at the end of the 2017-18 school year. Mary Prue has had an all-encompassing academic odyssey culminating in her Educator of the Month award this past December. Over the course of her time teaching in Nashville, she has taught at Harding Academy, University School of Nashville, Harpeth Hall, Franklin Road Academy, and Overbrook. Her first teaching job, however, was here at Harding Academy in our inaugural year of 1971-72. Having student-taught at H.G. Hill Elementary School, Mary Prue was the youngest teacher hired by Ms. McPherson and taught sixth grade. It is fitting that Mary Prue started her teaching career here and now has come full circle to finish her time in education where she began.

Mary Prue is an incredible educator and has always been laser-focused on the student experience. In fact, she can’t imagine ever walking away from working with young people. Teaching is a calling and for Mary Prue, this has certainly been the case. Over the course of the rest of the year, we will be working to find ways in celebrating her time here at Harding Academy and recognizing the impact she has had on countless students over the years. Please stay tuned for more information on that topic. While it won’t be easy to replace Mary Prue, we are currently engaged in a national search to find a new middle school math teacher.

We wish Mary Prue good luck in the next phase of her life and are so thankful for her contribution to Harding Academy.
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Inspiring The Mind  •  Nurturing The Spirit