001Testing. All right. All right. Dr. Seville, the man with the plan. >> [laughter] >> Good evening, everyone. I'd like to call this naming of schools committee meeting to order. I'm going to turn it over to Dr. Battle. All right. Thank you, board member um Taylor and chair of the naming of schools committee. Um we are um excited to be here this evening for recommendation of um naming our newest early learning center um after um Phyllis E. Phillips. Um at this time, I'm going to invite our deputy um chief of academics to the podium, Dr. David Williams. He is going to lead us through a very short presentation um to get to um the recommendation, but before we begin, um I'd like to also welcome um and thank um the family and friends and supporters um
002of Phyllis Phillips for being here um this evening. You all look amazing. I love the color coordination. Thank you for continuing >> [applause] >> her legacy. Thank you, Dr. Battle. Uh Chair Taylor, members of the board. Uh as Dr. Battle said, the recommendation for the board's consideration this afternoon is to name what has been referred to as Hillwood ELC in honor of Phyllis Elaine Phillips. And moving forward, uh we'll refer to the school as Phillips ELC. Phyllis passed away in November 2023 while serving as the director of pre-K programs and leading Metro Nashville Public Schools' Early Learning Department. Like the four other learning centers in MNPS, Phillips ELC will exclusively serve three and four-year-old students and will be located on what is uh currently and will continue to be the campus of Hillwood High School.
003I'm joined this afternoon by Lori Fleming who succeeded Phyllis as the director of pre-K programs in MNPS. Lori and I would like to share a little bit about Phyllis's story and why we believe she is deserving of this great honor. And with the board's permission, we've also invited Phyllis's daughter Casey to share a few thoughts as well. Phyllis was truly a daughter of Nashville, born and raised right here in our community. She attended Nashville public schools and graduated from Whites Creek in 1980 by her classmates. She later attended Tennessee State University, also here in Nashville, where she earned her degree in elementary education. Upon completing her degree, she began what would become a remarkable 37-year career in MNPS. Serving as a teacher, reading specialist, reading program specialist, pre-K coordinator, and ultimately director of pre-K programs.
004Education and service run deeply in the Phyllis family where several members of her family are also long-time educators in MNPS. Among her many accomplishments, Phyllis was recognized as MNPS Teacher of the Year. She helped plan and open the first three early learning centers here in MNPS and co-authored the federal preschool development expansion grant in 2014, which added 22 pre-K classrooms in MNPS. Shortly after, she helped lead the opening of our currently our fourth ELC, Cambridge ELC. When the PDGE grant concluded in 2019, Phyllis worked diligently to ensure continuity and sustainability for those additional classrooms. She also led the early learning leadership team supporting high-quality pre-K instruction across the district. One thing I often remind my team is that it's not just what you accomplish that matters, but also how you do it. While Phyllis achieved
005an extraor- extraordinary amount through her career, what I remember most is who she was as a person and as Dr. Battle said, joined by her family, friends, and colleagues, I don't think Phyllis saw a distinction of those three things. I think they were all her family. Every single day, Phyllis embodied the very characteristics we hope to instill in our students and yes, even our youngest learners, kindness, humility, dedication, and care for others. So, for more on that perspective, I'm going to turn things over to Lori. >> [clears throat] >> Good evening, everyone. Why Phyllis E. Phillips Early Learning Center? Phyllis truly represented all that we would want our students in MMPS to embody, starting with our earliest learners. She was caring. She had a deep love of children. She had a sense of humor. She
006instilled joy in others. She herself and all that she represented truly made early learning, quality early learning, what it is in MMPS today. She was a friend to all, whether it's a colleague, family members, friends, [snorts] a shoulder to cry on, an avid listener. She was what we call here in the South good people. There's not one person who came into contact with Phyllis would leave without understanding how deeply she cared about all that she encountered. She was a leader. She led by her heart and by example. She loved her teams, her academics team, her early learning team, and her teams in turn loved her back. Phyllis's legacy and high-quality early learning, those experiences that we want to give to all of our children, lives in MNPS's every student known. Her teams, her family, her
007friends, this district, we are all Phyllis strong. And with that, I would like to turn it over to her daughter, Casey Phillips. Good afternoon, everyone. I am Casey Phillips, Phyllis's daughter. I'm thankful to meet you all and I'm sincerely humbled by the opportunity to speak with you today. On behalf of my family, our friends, and my mom's co-workers and team, I would like to briefly speak to you about my mom and what she meant to our community. My mom was the kind of person who made somebody feel seen and valued. After her passing, I noticed that each of us had a unique relationship with her. Over the last couple of years, I've seen how she impacted her community through your stories. >> [snorts] >> To me, my mom was a silent leader who gently showed
008up in every aspect of our lives. She was an infinite source of encouragement who always wanted to see everyone succeed. MNPS was not just a career to her, but it was her passion. She happily devoted her entire career to MNPS. My mom had four core values that she truly believed in. She believed that every child deserved a place to feel safe, cared for, encouraged, and respected. She created her classrooms, schools, and worksites into places that grew those same values. I believe my mom's favorite part of her career was working in early learning. I remember how excited and optimistic she was when she accepted the position. I could tell there was a quiet buzz of excitement from her in acknowledgement that she had truly found her passion. A school's name stands for something greater than a
009building. It represents values, service, compassion, and dedication to the students and the community. Those are the values my mother lived by every day. This recognition is not just about remembering her past contributions. >> [snorts] >> It is about preserving a legacy for future generations. >> [snorts] >> When the community ask who she was and why the school carries her name, we will be able to proudly tell her story. And in telling her story, we will also tell them what it means to lead with kindness, to serve others selflessly, and to make a difference in people's lives. I believe having this school named after her would be a lasting reminder of the love, commitment, and humanity she brought into our community every day. >> [snorts] >> A school is far more than a building that houses
010classrooms. It is a powerful necessity in our communities that nurture new ideas, future leaders, and much more. It [snorts] is an extension of home where my mom believed that you should feel safe, cared for, encouraged, and respected. >> [snorts] >> My mom would have been humbled to even have this opportunity. >> [snorts] >> I am just grateful that the light in her has a new opportunity to shine. >> [snorts] [applause] >> I don't have anything to add to that, Dr. Battle. So, turn it back over to you and Chairwoman Taylor. All right. Thank you so much. I will immediately turn it back over to board member Taylor. I make the motion to um Oh, okay. I make the motion to name the early voting center after Phyllis E. Phillips um Early Learning Center. Second. All
011right. I have a first by Chairwoman Taylor and a second by board member Hayes. Is there any discussion? Small question. Uh the orange. Explain the significance of the orange. >> [laughter] >> She loved Tennessee, so orange is her favorite color. So, thank you all for being here today. I had the honor of going to Whites Creek with Phyllis. So, I knew her in high school and I absolutely adored her. And uh she never changed from the time that I met her at Whites Creek to the time that I uh would go and visit her every opportunity that I had when the office was at the Cohn uh Cohn school. Every opportunity that I had, whenever I would go to that school, I intentionally would go by to visit Phyllis. And she always talked about serving
012children. Always talked about how she wanted to support children and always was always thinking about different ways that she could make that happen. She absolutely was a gem. And I am so honored to have known her. And um there's not even a question. When I saw the name up here, I was like, "Absolutely. That is not a question in my mind." So, thank you all for being here. And Casey, your mom was phenomenal. So, thank you for sharing your thoughts. >> [applause] [applause] >> No, I just had a clarification on the name. It's Phyllis E. Phillips and not Phillips E. Phillips. Correct? >> That is correct. >> Thank you. Yes. I did want to uh take a moment to say just a few words. I had an opportunity to work with uh Phyllis uh when
013I was in the district. And um she embodied the saying that Maya Angelou has that says that you'll never forget how somebody made you feel. And I remember when I heard that she had passed. And I generally don't get that emotional. Um cuz I really I worked with her maybe four or five years, but it was on and off. I I used to run the car seat program. And so, we provided car seats for the students at the pre-K sites. Um, and that was really the the gist of our relationship was just organizing those events. But, she was so wonderful in the time that I worked with her. And I just really appreciated how easy she made things, how much she cared about the students, how much she cared about the families that were coming
014to receive car seats and things like that. And so, I just wanted to say that she was a true gem. I thank you all for sharing her with us here in Metro schools. Thank you for sharing her with all of the families that she was able to serve. And we appreciate you, and we love you very much. And I was just overjoyed when I heard that we were considering naming this early learning center after her. And so, I thank you all. >> [applause] >> All right. Um, and so, um, with the the there being a motion and it being seconded, I'd like to call for a vote on the renaming or the naming of the early learning center, Phyllis E. Phillips Early Learning Center. Okay, so all those in favor, please say I. I. Seeing
015that there was an unanimous I, I um, uh, we it has passed unanimously. Thank you. Y'all see, this is my first time doing this. I APPRECIATE IT. >> [applause and cheering] [applause] >> I CALL THIS UH RENAMING COMMITTEE MEETING ADJOURNED. OH