Parents Claim Nashville Christian Prep School Has Gone ‘Woke’

Parents and staff at a Christian prep school in Nashville are upset about what they say is a trend away from biblical teaching and toward leftist ideology after Lipscomb Academy hired a principal who wrote his dissertation on school diversity policies.

Lipscomb Academy has long been considered among the premier private Christian schools in Tennessee. Parents pay an elite price to enroll their children in the college prep school operated by Lipscomb University. The historic institution was founded in the late 19th century as the Nashville Bible School to provide students with “a rigorous and challenging academic education in a Christian context.”

But in recent years, Lipscomb Academy has shifted to a more politicized, “diversity, equity, and inclusion”-influenced education, some Lipscomb parents and others connected to the academy including employees tell The Federalist. They asked not to be identified for fear of reprisal against their children and their positions with the school. 

These individuals claim the shift picked up when Brad Schultz was tapped to lead Lipscomb Academy. Schultz, whose 2013 doctoral dissertation was titled “Intentionally Diverse: A Historical Investigation of a Southern Private School’s Ten-Year Diversity Initiative,” began his tenure as Lipscomb’s Head of School in June 2020 — just as race riots took off in Minneapolis and other U.S. cities.

“Lipscomb, like other private Christian schools today, [is] acquiescing to the liberal culture,” a Lipscomb Academy parent said in a phone interview with The Federalist. “Like churches that look more like the culture than the church, Lipscomb is looking way more like a public school than they are a Christian school.” 

Schultz’s dissertation sought in part “to discover how existing power dynamics between white mainstream and marginalized cultures might be embedded and reflected” in a Christian school’s “intentional diversity initiative,” according to a copy of the 153-page exposition obtained by The Federalist through an open-records request. The paper draws deeply from the concepts of “critical social theory” as it details a private Christian school’s attempt to attract students according to skin color. It leans heavily on the work of Marxist thinkers such as Paulo Freire, a Brazilian philosopher best known for “Marxifying education.“

Does the leftist worldview represented in Schultz’s dissertation inform his management of the Nashville Christian school he now leads? Schultz did not answer The Federalist’s request for comment. The school’s lawyer and its public relations officer did. 

In written responses to The Federalist’s questions, school officials vehemently deny the allegations, asserting there is no DEI program at Lipscomb and that the school is “fully compliant with all applicable Department of Education and Department of Justice guidance related to diversity, equity, and inclusion.” 

“Suggestions to the contrary misrepresent both our practices and our beliefs,” Lipscomb officials wrote. 

Multiple Lipscomb parents interviewed by The Federalist, however, said they see “woke” indoctrination permeating the private school that made national headlines in September after the assassination of Christian evangelizer and conservative icon Charlie Kirk. 

The Red Tie Affair

On Sept. 12, two days after Kirk was killed while speaking at a Utah college, several Lipscomb students wore red ties to school to honor the Turning Point USA founder. Jesse Savage, head of the high school at the time, reportedly told the students they were not in compliance with the dress code. Lipscomb officials told leftist publication The Nashville Scene that Savage emailed teachers instructing them to send any students wearing red ties to his office, noting “they were not in trouble.”

Lipscomb reportedly apologized afterward for its handling of the situation. School administrators agreed to hold a chapel service to honor Kirk’s memory, according to reports. The service lasted 23 minutes, said media personality Savannah Chrisley, whose sister is a seventh-grader at Lipscomb Academy, in an interview with News Nation. Chrisley told Newsmax some staff referred to Kirk as a “racist” and a “fascist,” a complaint two parents also raised.

Soon after, Savage was moved to a new position as director of academics. Savage’s supporters complained the change was a demotion to appease the parents who criticized his handling of the situation. The Scene reported that “roughly two dozen parents, alumni and students” protested in support of the administrator in September. Some faculty wore black clothing or didn’t show up to work to express solidarity with Savage, according to Fox17. Questioned about the matter, Lipscomb said it does not comment on internal personnel or disciplinary matters. 

Academy officials also claimed at the time that the academic director position had been in the works for more than a year and that Savage had the expertise and the interest to fill it. Asked about Chrisley’s allegations, school officials told The Federalist “baseless speculation and uninformed characterizations from spectators” did not “warrant a response.”

A Lipscomb Academy employee claimed staff members in certain departments think sharing conservative beliefs could end their careers at Lipscomb.

“Lipscomb Academy is not the Christian institution it once was. They focus less on Biblical truths, instead opting for spiritual inclusivity and felt needs,” the employee added. 

After The Federalist started looking into the allegations about the school’s left-leaning turn, Lipscomb’s general counsel sent a letter to Federalist Executive Editor Joy Pullmann warning that “publication of statements known to be false or made with reckless disregard for their accuracy could expose The Federalist to potential liability.”

“Please be advised that Lipscomb Academy is prepared to pursue all appropriate legal remedies should your publication move forward with the dissemination of any false or defamatory information,” wrote Lipscomb Academy General Counsel David G. Wilson. 

‘Champion of Inclusivity and Diversity’

When Schultz joined Lipscomb in 2020, Lipscomb’s “Head of School Report” hailed him as “a champion of inclusivity and diversity” who “focused his dissertation on an independent Christian school’s intentional efforts to significantly diversify its student body after decades in existence.” The school publication praised the enrollment growth Schultz presided over at a previous Christian private school, including a 150 percent increase in “students of color.”

Schultz’s 2013 dissertation for his education doctorate from Georgia Southern University tracks what he saw as the successes and failures of Northeastern Christian School (NCS), an elite private school in north Georgia. He examined how “power dynamics between white mainstream and marginalized cultures … informed” the school’s diversity initiative, according to the dissertation’s abstract. 

Lipscomb refused to provide a copy of the dissertation to The Federalist. Academy officials would not even say whether the school has retained a copy of the paper. They directed The Federalist to Georgia Southern, suggesting that institution “owns the rights to this research and the authority to release it.”

Georgia Southern initially did not return multiple requests for the documents. The university’s records custodian did, however, quickly respond to The Federalist’s open records request, releasing the dissertation. Georgia Southern’s digital scholarship librarian said that when Schultz submitted his dissertation, he asked that the school restrict access to Georgia Southern’s physical campus. That restriction does not cover open records requests. 

“A 13-year-old dissertation — analyzing events at a different school in a different state — does not govern teacher hiring decisions or drive curriculum,” Lipscomb’s communications director wrote in an email. “There is no DEI program at Lipscomb Academy, and the school is fully compliant with all applicable Department of Education and Department of Justice guidance related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Suggestions to the contrary grossly misrepresent both our practices and our beliefs.”

‘Bias, Prejudice, and Inequality’

Schultz’s dissertation relies on several critical theorists, including Antonio Gramsci, Frantz Fanon, Paulo Freire, and Max Horkheimer. According to its adherents, critical social theory aims to challenge systemic power structures on behalf of “oppressed” people.

Critical theory is the “work of several generations of philosophers and social theorists in the Western European Marxist tradition known as the Frankfurt School,” notes the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. It merges philosophy and social science, and generated leftist thought movements including “feminist theory, critical race theory, queer theory, and postcolonial/decolonial theory,” according to the encyclopedia. 

Schultz noted that Northeastern Christian School’s “intentional efforts to significantly diversify” its campus succeeded. The school saw non-white student enrollment increase from 15.5 percent to 31 percent over a roughly 10-year period. Yet, Schultz argued, Northeastern’s “seemingly progressive initiative” may have unwittingly reinforced “unequal power dynamics.”

“A diversity initiative that is initiated by wealthy white males will certainly be found lacking any true liberating power,” he wrote. “Without knowing, bias, prejudice, and inequality will be infused into the formation and implementation of the initiative.”

The dissertation expresses “concerns” that Northeastern Christian School’s mission statement — “To help each child grow as Jesus did in wisdom, in stature, and in favor with God and man” — showed “signs of cultural invasion.” The mission statement’s “commitment to help students grow in favor with God” presents a “significant threat here of students being negatively influenced by a hidden curriculum,” he wrote. 

“Is the school saying it holds the key to being in favor with God? If so, what is this saying to students who come to the school from different religious faiths or cultures?” Schultz wrote of the Christian school, which was “run and taught by members of the Churches of Christ.”

The dissertation also warned Northeastern was missing out on further “diversity” by turning away homosexual students and families. Schultz said the school uses “rules and disciplinary measures” to “prevent homosexual students and/or parents from ‘accomplishing its educational and spiritual purposes.’”

“As support for gay marriage continues to rise, the school’s stance towards homosexuality and same-sex marriage is likely to come into question,” Schultz wrote. 

Schultz Dissertation 2013 by The Federalist

‘Gender Identity/Sexual Orientation’ 

A recent “Open Letter to the Leadership of Lipscomb Academy” from “Concerned Parents & Christian Community Members” asserts some families have raised concerns about how the school interacts with “homosexual identifying students,” and that “language about sexuality” at times seems more “culturally accommodating than clearly scriptural.”

“This risks sending mixed messages about God’s design and the gospel’s transforming power,” the letter states. “Christian institutions must be unashamed in their proclamation of biblical truth while demonstrating Christ-like compassion to all students.”

A Lipscomb Academy parent sent The Federalist a recent school email to parents regarding an Advanced Placement Psychology class for high schoolers. Parents who spoke to The Federalist say the email is one of many examples of the school’s leftward turn.  

Kelly Swiggart, Lipscomb’s director of academic support, advised parents that a unit on developmental psychology would include sections on “Gender and Sexual Orientation,” asking students to describe “how sex and gender influence socialization and other aspects of development.” The unit included “Social-Emotional Development Across the Lifespan,” focusing on the development of identities “such as racial/ethnic identity, gender identity, [and] sexual orientation,” among others.

But as Swiggart notes in the email, the lessons are part of the required AP curriculum, which is set by the private company College Board. This situation forces Christian schools everywhere to make a difficult choice: Either teach these controversial sections or forfeit the college benefits of the dual-credit course.

Parents who spoke to The Federalist said the psychology course still could be guided through a biblical lens, but they’re concerned the curriculum will downplay rather than support scripture. In her email, Swiggart wrote: “While it is valuable for students to know Lipscomb’s institutional stance that marriage is between one man and one woman (and you may find more information about our Heritage Statements and Centering Core here), this is not designed as a forum to debate the morality of same-sex attraction or behaviors but rather as a challenge to think about how Christians can engage a difficult question and love all people well.”

“If the College Board says these topics need to be taught and tested on, that’s fine, but do it the right way,” said a parent of three children attending the school. “Lipscomb can and should be bold enough to ensure the topics are being taught and tested on from a biblical worldview.”

Lipscomb administration told The Federalist that the AP course, “like all academy courses, will be taught through a biblical lens and that students will be asked to confront the subject matter as followers of Jesus.”

BLM Organizer on Staff in 2019

Concerns about the direction of Lipscomb Academy preceded Schultz’s tenure as head of school. In 2019, the school brought in Brittany Paschall as its first dean of intercultural development. She served as an organizer for Black Lives Matter Nashville before joining Lipscomb. Paschall left Lipscomb after parents complained students were being taught politically charged ideology, including “white privilege.”

Led by Lipscomb parent John Rich, of the country duo Big & Rich, parents concerned about leftist instruction called for the removal of Paschall’s supervisor, Lisa Bruce. The flap began when a teacher assigned students to read Laurie Halse Anderson’s essay, “Whose Story Is It?” In it, Anderson asserts, “White people have had a whole lot of blood on their hands for the last four hundred years.” Rich “believed the essay could harm white children and called it racist,” the Nashville Scene reported. 

“They teach a diluted gospel message,” said an employee who spoke to The Federalist. The employee also claimed that Lipscomb’s recent hiring decisions have been reflective of the kind of ideology represented in Schultz’s dissertation. Academy officials say Lipscomb’s commitment to a Christ-centered, Bible-based education has long guided its approach to teaching, student life, and community relations. 

“We remain focused on supporting our students, teachers, and staff and on fostering an environment rooted in honesty, respect, accountability, and the shared values that have shaped this institution for more than a century,” the school said in the statement. “We consistently welcome constructive engagement from parents, guardians, and all members of the Lipscomb community who care about the well-being and success of our students.”

Matt Kittle is a senior elections correspondent for The Federalist. An award-winning investigative reporter and 30-year veteran of print, broadcast, and online journalism, Kittle previously served as the executive director of Empower Wisconsin.