Our Origin Story

Invictus Nashville embodies community at its heart. Founded by a Nashville native and first-generation high school graduate from Nashville public schools, Dr. Brenda Jones knew she wanted to make an impact in the Nashville community. Her commitment to providing quality public education for all Nashville students fueled her drive to open a school. After obtaining a doctoral degree from Trevecca University, she dove into the work of creating Invictus Nashville. Dr. Jones knew right away that in order to build a school model in service of the community, the community was where she needed to start.

 

Dr. Jones built a team of other community leaders focused on this same goal, establishing our co-design team. This dedicated team targeted the Donelson-Hermitage community and began by asking the following questions:

    •    “What must a school designed for Nashville include?”
   •    “What are our children’s hopes and dreams?”
   •    “How can a new school enhance Nashville’s educational landscape?”

 

After speaking to a diverse group of students, educators, community leaders, and parents, they compiled that data to build the school you see today. Their responses are the bedrock of the Invictus program and continue to shape our work. Our team remains committed to this community-centered approach as we build out our day-to-day processes and coach our new team members. In addition, to have the greatest impact on our community, we want our students to also do this work, ultimately becoming productive members of the community. With this in mind, our model strives to instill this community-centered mindset in those future leaders as well.