Hume-Fogg's original incarnation, Hume High School, which opened in 1855 on Eighth Avenue and Broad, was the first public school in Nashville. In 1875, Fogg High School became the second public school in Nashville. It was built on the same property as Hume High School, facing Broad Street. In 1912, the two merged into Hume-Fogg at the present site at 700 Broadway, a Gothic Revival building. The building consists of five floors including a basement, which has several tunnels leading to various locations in downtown Nashville. However, they are currently boarded off and inaccessible. In 1942, Hume-Fogg was recast as a Technical and Vocational School for African Americans, in a segregated system. It continued in this capacity until the 1982 court-supervised desegregation of Nashville's public school system, decades after the US Supreme Court ruled that segregation of public schools was unconstitutional. In that year, Hume-Fogg was redeveloped as an academic magnet school for Nashville's gifted and talented secondary students. In the 2004–2005 school year, Hume-Fogg celebrated its sesquicentennial anniversary. In 2010, it was in immediate danger of flooding waters. Being a school that is over 100 years old, it has had roof and leaking issues for several years. The flood waters stopped and receded only a few blocks away from the school, and the rain waters did not cause any notable damage to the school. The graduation ceremony was in question, as the building used for the event, Bridgestone Arena, had a flooded basement, but the graduation was held on schedule.
Academics
Hume-Fogg is an academic magnet school and offers 31 Advanced Placement courses. All academic courses—with the exception of P.E./Art courses—are taught at the Honors or AP level. Nearly 100 percent of graduates each year go on to four-year colleges, many earning prestigious academic scholarships in the process. Each year, the Hume-Fogg senior class is granted over ten million dollars in cumulative scholarship and grant money from various universities across the United States. In 2012, Hume-Fogg had twelve National Merit Semi-Finalists and four National Achievement Semi-Finalists, as well as four semi-finalists in the Intel Science Talent Search Competition and three semi-finalists in the Siemens Competition in Math, Science, and Technology. In the 2006–2007 academic year, Hume-Fogg received the National Siemens Award for one of the best scientific and math-based academic programs in the country. In addition, Newsweek and U.S. News & World Report have consistently ranked Hume-Fogg among the top public high schools in America:
2019
...
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
Newsweek
71
36
33
32
26
24
58
43
U.S. News & World Report
60
37
49
26
26
30
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Arts at Hume-Fogg
Hume-Fogg's Arts Department consists of Fine Arts, Band, Orchestra, Choir, and Theater programs. Every year, Hume-Fogg's theater department collaborates with the choral and orchestral programs on the production of a fall musical. Recent productions include Hairspray, West Side Story, Les Misérables, and Beauty and the Beast. The Band program, currently run and directed by Dr. Richard J. Ripani consists of Beginning Band, Concert Band, Wind Ensemble, and two Jazz Bands, and jazz combos. The jazz band has competed in the Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition and Festival in New York City on several occasions. The Orchestra program consists of a String ensemble, which also serves as part of the Pit Orchestra in the fall musicals. In recent times, the Hume-Fogg String Orchestra has collaborated with the string ensembles of Martin Luther King Magnet at Pearl High School at the MTSBOA Concert Festivals. The Choral program consists of a Mixed Chorus and a Show Choir. Hume-Fogg's music programs have had tremendous success at festivals and assessments regionally and nationally – typically earning Superior ratings at such events. Many student musicians have competed and participated in TN Mid-State and All-State clinics. Additionally, several students perform in musical groups outside of school such as the Curb Youth Symphony, Music City Youth Orchestra, and the Blair Chorus programs.
Athletics
Hume-Fogg has the highest percentage of students in sports in Davidson County. In 1964, it was the first public high school in Nashville to desegregate its sports teams. Varsity sports:
