Nashville's new Lawson High School: Colors, mascot and more revealed

Let's go, Lawson Lightning.

That's what cheerleaders and community members exclaimed Wednesday during a press conference announcing newly decided pieces of Lawson High School, a new Metro Nashville Public Schools high school set to open in Bellevue in August 2023.

The school – named in honor of Nashville civil rights activist James Lawson – is set to replace Hillwood High School, which has been a part of the area's cluster of schools for 63 years. Nashville Mayor John Cooper and the Metro Council allocated $100 million for the project. Hillwood's move to a location roughly 8 miles southwest of where it currently sits was approved in 2017,

At Bellevue's Ford Ice Arena, representatives gathered for a "big reveal" of new details that will make Lawson home for the Bellevue area's cluster of schools for generations to come.

"We don't get the opportunity to build many schools in Nashville, but certainly not high schools, and I'm so thrilled with the way this is coming out," MNPS chief operating officer Maura Black Sullivan said. "It's going to be a beautiful place to work and learn."

The final Hillwood football game:Ex-players and fans celebrate 63 years of memories

Current Hillwood principal Stephen Sheaffer put out a call for more students interested in attending Lawson to make their voices heard.

"We actually invite any of them that would like to come join us because we have the finest facility and we have the finest staff and we have such strong community support out here," he said.

The projected enrollment is currently at nearly 1,200 students, Sheaffer said, while the goal is to have 1,600 students. All current Hillwood students and those zoned for the school will move on to Lawson, but others can also apply to attend via MNPS's school options process and are invited to work with the MNPS central office to do so.

"As beautiful as this building is, if we don't fill it up... Then it's just a building," he said.

Lawson High School's mascot, colors, song

• Mascot: Lightning, which includes alliteration with the name "Lawson" and represents power, dominance, brilliance and more.
• Colors: Midnight Navy blue, Columbia sky blue, sunny yellow, representing the views students will be able to see from the school over Bellevue's hilltops.
• Alma mater: The song includes nods to Bob Marley's "Redemption Song," James Lawson's time as a pastor, and both Hillwood and former Bellevue high school's alma maters.

For a look or listen to any of these, as well as more details on the arts and athletic programs planned for Lawson, watch the announcement live stream now at www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ljUUIdohGE.

Construction update

The 274-acre campus includes a library, a commons, a theater and various athletic fields. But buildings will only sit on 40 acres, keeping the site as true to its natural state as possible.

The construction process is on schedule and on budget, according to Tom Lampe, vice president of Messing Construction.

"It will really be a mecca, a destination for the Nashville and Middle Tennessee area to go for athletic events," Lampe said, adding that the project includes work from 53 local subcontractors, 38% of which are small, women- and minority-owned businesses, as well as 200 trade professionals that work on the project daily.

Lawson High School will be located at 8001 Highway 70 S., formerly the site of Hope Church. 

For more details on the project and the current state of construction visit Hillwood High School's website or James Lawson High School's website created by cluster families.

Anika Exum is a reporter for the Tennessean covering youth and education. Reach her at 615-347-7313, aexum@tennessean.com, or on Twitter @aniexum.

Stay up-to-date on Tennessee's top education news by signing up for our new weekly newsletter, School Zone. Sign up here.

Want to read more stories like this? A subscription to one of our Tennessee publications gets you unlimited access to all the latest news throughout the entire USA TODAY Network.