Old Center Elementary School derived its name quite literally when it opened sometime around the mid-1870s – it was once a one-room log house positioned perfectly in the center of four large farms, each of which gave one-quarter of an acre to the school’s site location. 
The log cabin schoolhouse served approximately 50 students with two teachers until Old Center was rebuilt around the early 1900s and again in the 1930s in the same Goodlettsville building it occupies to this day.
Old Center is also believed to be the first public school to use official school transportation services in or around 1920, although students didn’t travel by bus – they instead traveled in a covered, horse-drawn carriage.
Today, the team at Old Center prides themselves on building relationships with their students and believe it is an important factor to assuring Every Student is Known. More than 370 students attend Old Center in pre-k through fourth grade.
“All faculty and staff at Old Center build meaningful relationships to engage students in experiences that will create a warm, safe and welcoming environment,” said Brenda Steele, the executive principal. “These relationships promote learning and build self-confidence in what our students do, think and say.”
Old Center Elementary Facts
- The school’s mascot is a bear, and its colors are blue and yellow.
- Their motto is: “Learning Today — Leading Tomorrow.”
- The vision of Old Center Elementary is to provide a safe and nurturing environment for students to learn, grow and achieve to their highest potential.
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