Nashville Public Schools has received four honors in the 47th Annual Telly Awards, including a Gold award, for a series of films showcasing the district’s student-led music initiatives. The Telly Awards is one of the most prestigious honors in video and television, drawing more than 13,000 entries from across the globe.
The district’s winning entries are:
Gold Award – Film Shorts: General Documentary | “Every Student Known: The Making of an Anthem”
Silver Award – General: Education & Discovery | “Every Student Known: The Making of an Anthem”
Silver Award – Non-Broadcast: General Children | “This Is Where We Belong”
Bronze Award – Branded Content: General Music Video | “I Belong Music Video (Extended Intro)”
“Our students have now earned a Midsouth Emmy and four Telly Awards for telling their own stories in their own voices,” said Dr. Adrienne Battle, Superintendent of Nashville Public Schools. “This is what investing in the arts looks like. It looks like joy, it looks like belonging, and it looks like our students shining on a national stage. We could not be more proud.”
All three honored works – one of which received two awards – grew out of Nashville Public Schools’ student Songwriting Summit program. The Gold-winning documentary, “Every Student Known: The Making of an Anthem,” chronicles the creation of the flagship track from I Believe I Belong, the five-song EP written and performed by MNPS students. The album was created through the district’s annual Songwriting Summit, where students collaborate with Nashville music industry professionals and educators to write and record original songs at East Iris Studios.
Released in August 2025, the EP includes “I Believe,” “I Belong,” “This Is Where We Belong,” and the Spanish-language “Cada Estudiante Valorado,” alongside “Every Student Known.” The album is available on all major streaming platforms, and the documentary previously earned a Midsouth Regional Emmy Award for excellence in storytelling and production.
The Telly Awards recognition builds on a growing body of nationally recognized work from MNPS’s Visual and Performing Arts department. The district recently released Music City High: A Celebration of the Arts in Nashville Public Schools, a three-part documentary series filmed by The Moving Picture Boys and sponsored by the CMA Foundation and Notes for Education. The series follows MNPS students and educators across three schools, exploring how the arts deepen learning, build confidence, and help students discover who they are and who they can become.
The Telly Awards honors excellence in video and television across all screens, judged by a council of more than 250 industry experts from leading production companies, networks, and platforms. This year’s winners include Paramount TV, Warner Brothers Discovery, FOX Entertainment, MoMA, Mayo Clinic, TED, ABC News, and more. The full list of winners is available on the Telly Awards’ website.
“These awards reflect the extraordinary talent of our students and the dedication of our music educators,” said Franklin Willis, Director of Visual and Performing Arts for Nashville Public Schools. “From the Songwriting Summit to a Gold Telly, this work shows what students are capable of when they are given the space, the support, and the belief that their voices matter. I am incredibly proud of everyone who brought it to life.”
Nashville Public Schools continues to expand its commitment to arts education as a vital part of student learning, expression, and success.
