NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — More than two years after six people died in a mass shooting on campus, The Covenant School announced plans for a new home in West Nashville.

On March 27, 2023, six people, including three children, were shot and killed at the Covenant School in Green Hills. The victims were identified as Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney, all 9 years old; as well as Cynthia Peak, 61; Dr. Katherine Koonce, 60; and Mike Hill, 61. 

Students returned to the Green Hills campus in April 2024.

According to a release, the school has entered into a contract to purchase seven lots on Highway 70 between Brook Hollow Road and Vossland Drive in West Nashville.

The school is currently under a short-term lease at its existing campus on Burton Hills Boulevard in Green Hills. The school has spent the past year exploring options to remain in Green Hills or purchase new property.

“We are excited about the opportunity to create a fresh start for The Covenant School in a new home where God’s love will continue to echo,” Head of School Trudy Waters said. “This is a very attractive location for our school and for current and future families. “We are committed to being good neighbors, and we look forward to providing a unique, loving and intentional educational environment - one rooted in our mission of students being known, loved and prepared to go into the world courageously as image bearers of Christ - for West Nashville families and beyond,” Waters continued in a release.

The property owners on Highway 70 are native Nashvillian, Mike Shmerling, and his wife, Lisa.

“Our family has lived within two miles of this property for nearly 70 years,” Shmerling said. “We are honored to be able to support The Covenant School and its future in this way.”

The move will have to be approved by the Metro Planning Department in the coming weeks.

The Covenant School has launched a fundraising campaign to assist with the project. Click here for more.

News Source : https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/nashville/covenant-school-mass-shooting/covenant-school-announces-site-of-future-campus/