To add to the list of our Nashville UrbanPlan firsts, we now have our first teacher in Nashville to conduct UrbanPlan in a classroom setting. 

The program is part of a class at Glencliff High School that is taught by teacher Adam Guidry and is a blend of students from two Glencliff Academies: The Academy of Automotive, Agriculture & Technology (AAT) and the Ford Academy of Business and Innovation (FABI). Guidry previously helped to develop a state-adopted curriculum he has been teaching in the Technology pathway for the past several years structured around the ACE (Architecture, Construction and Engineering) Mentor Program.  He has incorporated the UrbanPlan material into this class and added several students from the business academy to work with his technology students. 

Per Guidry: “The program is really thought out and provides so many resources. As a teacher, they ensure you are well prepared. The power of it is how it teaches students to understand how cities work; we shouldn’t only rely on just engineering, technology, architecture, etc. Another thing is that it’s set up in a way that you can go at your own pace with the students and talk through the questions. The open-ended questions allow me to hear the students’ perspectives and see what matters to them.”   

ULI provides both high school and college educators with free training and extensive lesson planning materials to guide them through the UrbanPlan process. While Guidry is teaching the majority of the material, local UrbanPlan volunteers can join the class to discuss certain lessons and will be serving as Facilitators and Council Members as they would in a traditional one or two-day UrbanPlan workshop.  UrbanPlan co-chair Tara Myers has joined in several of the initial classes and has been impressed by the materials developed by ULI and the enthusiasm with which Guidry is teaching them to the students. “The students are engaging in really meaningful conversations about the own community while participating in hands-on activities that teach them about the development process. I am excited to see the discussions and plans that develop as the lessons continue. The classroom material provides a much deeper experience than we are able to get in a one or two-day workshop.” 

To date, the students have completed four of the fifteen workshop units. Stay tuned for updates as this class continues in 2024 and we look to expand the program to other Metro High Schools.