A life of discovery

By Jessica Bliss and MC Claverie ’20

Frances Fondren-Bales first uncovered her love of teaching in the science lab. Now, as director of the upper school, she encourages Harpeth Hall girls to pursue what inspires and intrigues them.

Asa teenager growing up in Greenville, South Carolina, Frances Fondren-Bales dreamed of becoming a doctor, not a teacher. Throughout her early academic career, she planned on pursuing medical school, which led her to help teach a biology class her senior year of high school. At the time, she thought teaching the class would solidify her plans to become a pediatric oncologist, however, it ultimately changed the trajectory of her career aspirations.

Now, years into her professional career, Ms. Fondren-Bales could not imagine being anything other than an educator. From those first experiences leading science labs and guiding students in biology test review sessions to her newest role as director of the upper school at Harpeth Hall, Ms. Fondren-Bales finds fulfillment in the student-teacher relationship. She has deep and proven experience as a division leader and has brought to Harpeth Hall steadying insight and an energy, focus, and forward-thinking commitment to all-girls education.

“I know how deeply impactful an all-girls environment can be as young women are finding their voices at this particular stage in life,” Ms. Fondren-Bales said. “This kind of education creates stronger, more competent women, and that is really valuable.” From her earliest years as a teacher and administrator, Ms. Fondren-Bales has focused on elevating girls in education — and her educational pursuits began in Nashville at Vanderbilt University, making her return here a full-circle moment. After discovering her passion for teaching, Ms. Fondren-Bales pursued a master’s in French literature from the University of California Santa Barbara and a Master of Education in Private School Leadership from the Klingenstein Center at Columbia University’s Teachers College.

She taught French at The Westminster School in Atlanta, Georgia, for 11 years. The position not only reflected her passion for the history, literature, artwork, food, and culture of France, but also aligned with one of her goals as an educator which was to expand students’ understanding of the people and world around them.

“I am passionate about students being exposed to other languages and cultures,” Ms. Fondren-Bales said, “not only because they can experience new ways of thinking and new ideas, but also because it is by getting outside of one's own culture and looking back at it from the outside, that one can become truly self-aware.”

Ms. Fondren-Bales also served as a grade-level dean and dean of girls at Westminster. It was there that her passion for girls education really took root. After more than a decade in Atlanta, Ms. Fondren-Bales moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to serve as the head of the upper school at Holland Hall. In that role, she worked to create more leadership opportunities for female students who previously may have been overshadowed by their male classmates.

“I was constantly trying to create equity,” she said. “I saw that the president of the student body was often a male, but that president often didn't do a lot of the work. So, he was voted into the position and then a girl on student council was usually behind the scenes doing much of the work. I started to say, ‘We're going to have a male and a female president. We're going to create a system where there is a male and a female in positions of power.’ ”

Ms. Fondren-Bales said that working to create equal leadership opportunities at Holland Hall inspired her to learn more about all-girls environments, and, eventually, it seemed only natural to look for educational leadership positions at all-girls schools.

“It’s not just an interest, I’ve really done a lot of studying about all-girls environments, and I’d done so much that it started to feel silly not to be at an all-girls school. It was a very organic transition for me,” she said.

Ms. Fondren-Bales joined Harpeth Hall as the director of the upper school in July 2022. Top of mind upon her arrival was to meet with each faculty member and ask two questions about the community:

1. What are the ingredients of the “special sauce” that makes Harpeth Hall so special that we should never change?

2. Where do we need to put our energy as we move forward?

Ms. Fondren-Bales sees her job as a way to listen to all voices and help solve problems that arise within a community. She said her background in teaching makes her aware of what challenges students, parents, and teachers may face.

“I describe myself as a teacher-administrator,” Ms. Fondren-Bales said. “My husband is always laughing because I’ll introduce myself and people will say ‘Oh, what do you do?’ and I’ll say, ‘I’m in education. I’m a teacher.’ I am a teacher who is also an administrator, there is a difference because I really think we are all teachers if you are working in education. I really try to keep my feet steeped in the classroom because it's easy to lose sight of that when you are an administrator.”

With that educator-first philosophy, Ms. Fondren-Bales brought with her a commitment to support the girls at Harpeth Hall as they explore subjects that inspire and intrigue them, so that they may feel confident in themselves and their talents and skills. Channeling her early interest in science and medicine, Ms. Fondren-Bales values the power of educational curiosity and discovery. She encourages teaching methods that get students out of their seats and into situations that provide firsthand experiences. “I strive to involve students in their own education so learning becomes more applicable to the world around them and more deeply embedded in their memories,” Ms. Fondren-Bales said about her philosophy of education. “I accomplish this goal by prioritizing the student-teacher relationship. It is only when a student is truly known that exceptional growth can happen.”

With that comes a commitment to advance the learning excellence of upper school students through Harpeth Hall’s established premier programs such as Winterim and Global Scholars, as well as by exploring new opportunities in the Bullard Bright IDEA Lab and beyond.

“By using every arena as a place of learning,” she said, “I hope students will realize that we learn by seeking novelty in all that we do, by seeking connections to the world around us, and by giving our creativity the license to explore ideas and solutions beyond the status quo.”

Get to know more about Ms. Fondren-Bales

Q: If you could tell the upper school students one thing or give them one piece of advice for the start of the year, what would it be?

A: I think anytime folks are new, whether it’s teachers or students, one of my big pieces of advice is to ask questions and to have grace with yourself. You're new, you’re learning, so if you make a mistake, it is okay because you're new. I’m in that seat as well. I have to ask a lot of questions.

Q: What is one thing that people might not know about you without you telling them?

A: I get up super early in the morning, and that's my kind of quiet me time. I practice contemplative prayer, a form of meditation that's very important to me to center myself. Then, I get exercise, and then I drink my coffee. . . . That quiet time is really key for me to fill my gas tank up. Another thing people don’t often know when they first meet me is that I’m quite a cheerleader at heart. I have a lot of energy, and I go nuts on the sidelines at games. My husband wouldn’t sit next to me at football games at my last school because I got so excited. So, I am a very spirited person, and I love that sense of school spirit.

Q: Magnolia Green or Silver Gray?

A: Magnolia green, the green brings out the green in my eyes.

Q: If you could participate in one Harpeth Hall program, club, activity, or sport, what would it be and why?

A: I think I would choose robotics. Honestly, it is not an area in which I have a lot of experience or expertise, but I love the team atmosphere, and I would lean into learning as much as I could through the program.

Q: If you were to design a Winterim class or trip, what would it be or where would you go?

A: In my heart I am still a French teacher, so a trip to France with an immersive experience would be top of mind. Maybe something in the south of France with study of Roman ruins and the influence of the Romans in southern France. History mixed with literature.

Q: Who are some your leadership role models?

A: Most of my role models are not famous people, they are people who I know through my own experiences. There’s a woman named Jessica Bagby who was the head of upper school when I was the dean of students at the Westminster Schools. I admired the strength of Jessica’s convictions and the way she could cut straight to the heart of an issue to help all of us become stronger in community. I really admire Jess Hill. I admire how calm she is, and I admire how thoughtful she is. I read every one of her blogs that I could get my hands on before joining the faculty here. I've talked to some alumnae who've talked about how little things Jess does in such a thoughtful way have really impacted them, like remembering the power of “yet.”

Q: What is one thing you have enjoyed at Harpeth Hall so far?

A: It's exciting to get to learn a new place and learn a new culture. I'm very aware this first year or even two I’m going to be absorbing all things Harpeth Hall so that I can know the traditions and know the place. I have often said to the faculty: “One thing I love about this place is that we hold tradition in one hand and we hold innovation in the other.” We do not see these as dichotomous.