Battle Ground Academy
Battle Ground Academy | |
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TSSAA Division II-AA | |
Mascot | Wildcat |
Website | www |
Battle Ground Academy (BGA) is an independent college-preparatory school for grades K-12. BGA is located in
History
Battle Ground Academy was established in 1889, and it was named for its original location during the Civil War Battle of Franklin.[1]
The first campus was erected at the corner of Columbia Avenue and Cleburne Street. S. V. Wall and W. D. Mooney were chosen as the first to lead the new academy. In 1902, the original school building burned at which time the school was relocated to Columbia Avenue in Franklin.
BGA was established to educate boys originally and girls began to attend some time later. The school operated as a
After the construction of the first dormitory, the decision was made to change to an all-male student body. The departure of the last girl students in 1929 ushered in a half-century when BGA was a
In the early 1970s, the boarding program was phased out. BGA once again welcomed girls to its student body. At present, the female enrollment accounts for approximately 50 percent of the student body.
In 1996, the location of the Battle Ground Academy Upper School changed to the current site on Ernest Rice Lane (off of Mack Hatcher Parkway). In 2003, the Middle School joined the Upper School on the Glen Echo campus. Additionally, in 1998, Battle Ground Academy acquired the former Harpeth Academy. This became the BGA Lower School on Franklin Road. Currently, the school operates with two physical campuses and has three divisions: Lower School, Middle School, and Upper School.
Student Honors
The BGA Artist Guild was established in 1987. As the Guild grew in size and prestige, the group began to have public performances. Guild Night has become a tradition for parents and students each year..[2] Board of Trust Merit Scholarships are provided to some of BGA's most promising incoming freshmen. This scholarship program was established in 2005 to recognize outstanding academic performance. [3] Digamma is an in-school honor society. Members are BGA students who are sophomores, juniors or seniors having a cumulative academic GPA of 3.1.[4]
Notable alumni
- C. J. Beathard '12, Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback
- Tucker Beathard '14, country music singer
- nuclear physicist, MIT Ph.D. Nuclear Physics, member of Riders in the Sky
- athletics director
- W. Wirt Courtney 1907, U.S. Representative from Tennessee
- fullback
- song writerand singer
- Bob Harris '44, National Basketball Association basketball player
- Orrin H. Ingram II '78, businessman
- attorney
- Joe Jenkins, Major League Baseball catcher for the St. Louis Browns and Chicago White Sox
- Mike Keith '86, radio announcer for the Tennessee Titans
- Wendell Mayes, screenwriter
- John P. Newsome, U.S. Representative from Alabama
- Nashvillesports radio personality
- Natalie Stovall '00, country music artist
Notes
- ^ Boyd, Lucas G. "Battle Ground Academy." Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture, retrieved 2015/03/06.
- ^ "Battle Ground Academy ~ Artists Guild". www.battlegroundacademy.org. Archived from the original on April 21, 2012.
- ^ "Battle Ground Academy ~ Board of Trust Merit Scholarships". Archived from the original on January 25, 2015. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
- ^ "Battle Ground Academy ~ Student Organizations". www.battlegroundacademy.org. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016.