Committee approves resolution designating ‘Sister Sandra Smithson Day’ in Tennessee

The Education Full Committee unanimously advanced House Bill 326, a naming-and-designating measure that would place March 3 on the Tennessee calendar as Sister Sandra Smithson Day, a day of observance rather than a legal holiday. The clerk reported an 18-0 vote.

Representative Bolso, presenting the bill and an adopted amendment, described Sister Sandra Smithson as a longtime educator and founder of Project Reflect and Smithson Craighead Academy. "Sister Sandra was a visionary in Middle Tennessee in the education of impoverished and underprivileged children," the sponsor said. The sponsor provided biographical details, including Smithson’s 1926 birth, her attendance at Xavier University, her teaching fellowship at Fisk, religious vocation with the School Sisters of St. Francis, and international teaching work. The sponsor said Smithson died in May 2022 and that Project Reflect helped found Smithson Craighead Academy, which the sponsor described as Nashville’s first charter school following the legislature’s charter school enactments.

Committee members offered brief remarks in support. No fiscal impact or implementation actions were discussed; the bill is a ceremonial observance moved to calendar and rules.