Father Ryan High School


Father Ryan High School is a private, Roman Catholic coeducational high school in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1925 as Nashville Catholic High School for Boys, Father Ryan is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Nashville. It was the first racially integrated high school in Tennessee.

History

The school was founded 1925 by Alphonse John Smith, the bishop of Diocese of Nashville. It was initially named Nashville Catholic High School for Boys before adopting its current name in 1927 to honor Father Abram Joseph Ryan.
In September 1954 the school began admitting black students, making it the first racially integrated school in Tennessee.
In 1970, the school merged with the Cathedral High School and became coeducational.

Campus

Father Ryan High School's first campus was at 2300 Elliston Place, which was dedicated in 1929. Father Ryan remained there for 62 years and expanded twice, but eventually it outgrew these facilities and during the summer of 1991 relocated to its present home on Norwood Drive in the Oak Hill area of Nashville, TN.
This site includes an academic building containing computer labs, science labs, and classrooms. There is also an administrative cloister building which houses art and drama rooms, band room, dining hall, and the St. James Chapel. The field house contains three full size basketball courts, a wrestling room, workout areas, locker rooms, and coaching offices. The site also has softball, baseball, soccer, football fields and a track. Recent additions include a freestanding Library, a football stadium and Center for the Arts.

Demographics

The demographic breakdown of the 945 students enrolled in 2013-2014 was:
Father Ryan is a member of the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association and Division II Class AAA E/M Region. The Father Ryan athletic program includes football, basketball, soccer, golf, baseball, track, cross country, volleyball, golf, swimming & diving, tennis, softball, wrestling, lacrosse, ice hockey, bowling, cheerleading and rugby.

Notable alumni