Nashville girls school Harpeth Hall pauses implementation of gender diversity policy

• Harpeth Hall announced Thursday afternoon it would pause the adoption of its new gender diversity statement.
• The school previously approved updated language clarifying its gender diversity policy.

Harpeth Hall on Thursday announced its board of trustees will pause the adoption of a recently amended gender diversity philosophy to allow more opportunities for community input. 

The email announcement, sent to parents and obtained by The Tennessean, came after a petition against the new philosophy circulated online and garnered more than 1,000 signatures. 

The elite, all-girls college prep academy in Green Hills was founded in 1951 and has an alumnae base of more than 6,000.

It appears that anyone can sign and add comments to the online petition — with the option of anonymity. 

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The email, signed by the board of trustees and head of school Jess Hill, said the school acknowledges the strong response from alumnae and supporters.

"Based on the response from our school community, the Harpeth Hall Board of Trustees is choosing to pause the adoption of the philosophy in order to engage a wider audience in continued discussion," the email said. 

The email also repeated the school's commitment to educating girls, and said school leadership does not want to alter existing admissions practices. 

Director of communications Jessica Bliss previously said the gender diversity statement — approved by the board in June — was an internal philosophy created for faculty, students and parents. 

"That philosophy is being misinterpreted by some as a change in the admission policies at Harpeth Hall," Bliss said. "We are and always have been an all-girls independent school."

Thursday's email stated school administration will share next steps for gathering community input.  

The petition, titled "Girls Matter Harpeth Hall," included a letter demanding the school host a town hall without the presence of media or public relations teams.

A second letter obtained by The Tennessean demanded the resignation of school leadership and said parents, donors and alumnae would withhold financial contributions to the school until action was taken.

Reach reporter Molly Davis at mdavis2@gannett.com or on Twitter @mollym_davis.