Gentleman: Character for the 21st Century
Montgomery Bell Academy prizes character as the foundation for all of our students’ academic, altruistic, and athletic pursuits. Here we focus on imparting qualities like resilience, humility, perseverance and compassion to support our boys’ pursuit in their goal of becoming great men of character. Special programs, service opportunities, and ceremonies focus on MBA’s key pillars of character, namely Honor, Respect, Leadership, Self-Discipline and Service. Our advisory system, which allows each boy to be truly known and appreciated by members of the faculty, provides the perfect venue for further exploring these virtues.
We choose an overall school theme each year that focuses on a particular aspect of character, reinforced by invited speakers and weekly all-school assembly talks. Additionally, each year a young man spends at MBA concentrates on a distinct component of developing into a Gentleman. The 7th and 8th grade years focus on structure, taking responsibility for one’s actions, and imparting a foundation of organization and preparedness for the rigorous academic years to come.
Marking the entrance to high school, 9th grade emphasizes identity building, beginning to discover and express one’s own voice and passions all while learning to appreciate the multi-faceted giftedness of others. 10th grade is a year when the students concentrate on service and citizenship, with each boy recognizing his responsibility as a part of the MBA community and the impact for good he can make in the greater community.
A student’s final two years at MBA focus on leadership and impact. During these years, upperclassmen set an example for the school by taking on roles leading the Honor Council, the Service Club, and the Student Government. One of the most significant traditions at MBA is the Ring Ceremony where 11th graders receive a tangible symbol of all they have learned, experienced, and become during their time on The Hill. The MBA ring is a prized possession of alumni that reminds them of the opportunity MBA has afforded them, the bonds of brotherhood they have developed, and the mantle of responsibility that each takes with him into the rest of his life’s journey.
D'On Coofer, '16
D’On Coofer, voted Best Boy his junior and senior years, attends Rhodes College where he plays football. D’On made a significant impact on the MBA community during his tenure here. In addition to his leadership in athletics, on the football, wrestling and track teams, he was actively involved in the Service Club and was inducted into the Totomoi Society, an honorary fraternity, as a senior. In a talk he gave here, D’On had this to share “MBA takes pride in being a school that is able to bring in students from all walks of life and provide them a solid academic footing, while at the same time preparing them for what lies ahead. I can confidently say that the MBA community is a loving, caring, and sheltering environment in which boys can grow into men of honor, character, courage, and resilience — true gentlemen, scholars, and athletes.”
Montgomery Bell Academy
4001 Harding Road
Nashville, TN 37205
(615) 298-5514
