Pope Saint John Paul II Preparatory School

Pope Saint John Paul II Preparatory School
The campus of Pope Saint John Paul II Preparatory School (2013)
Location
117 Caldwell Drive Hendersonville , Tennessee 37075 United States
Coordinates	36°18′57″N86°40′12″W / 36.31583°N 86.67000°W / 36.31583; -86.67000
Information
Type	Private
Motto	Faith Leads Us Beyond Ourselves
Religious affiliation(s)	Roman Catholic
Established	2002;23 years ago (2002)
Oversight	Roman Catholic Diocese of Nashville
President	Erick Chittle
Principal	Jennifer Dye
Teaching staff	88.1 (on an FTE basis) [1]
Grades	6–12
Enrollment	753 [1]  (2021–2022)
Student to teacher ratio	8.5 [1]
Color(s)	Navy and gold
Nickname	Knights
Accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools [2]
Yearbook	Excalibur
Website	www.popeprep.org

Pope Saint John Paul II Preparatory School is a Catholic preparatory school in Hendersonville, Tennessee, United States. It is part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Nashville.

History

Pope Saint John Paul II Preparatory School opened in 2002 as Pope John Paul II High School. Hans Broekman was its first headmaster.

Student life

As of the 2021–2022 school year, the school enrolls approximately 753 students. The student-to-teacher ratio is 8.5. ^[1]

Football

The Pope Saint John Paul II Knights represent the school and are classified as Division II. ^{[3] [4]}

Demographics

Student Demographic Profile ^{[1] [5]}

Race	Number enrolled, % (2019–2020)
White	461 (79.1%)
Asian or Asian/Pacific Islander	48 (8.2%)
Black or African American	46 (7.9%)
Hispanic/Latino	27 (4.6%)
American Indian or Alaska Native	1 (0.2%)

In popular culture

• The football and prom scenes in Taylor Swift's music video for "You Belong With Me" were filmed at the school, which provided extras. ^[6]

Notable alumni

• Golden Tate (2007), former NFL Pro-Bowl wide receiver ^[7]
• Josef Newgarden (2008), IndyCar Series driver ^[7]
• Austin Swift (2010), actor and brother to Taylor Swift
• Jake Rucker (2018), baseball player in the Minnesota Twins organization
• Kenny Minchey (2023), college football quarterback for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish ^[8]
• Katie Shea Collins (2024), soccer player for the South Carolina Gamecocks ^[9]

References

1. "Search for Private Schools - School Detail for POPE JOHN PAUL II HIGH SCHOOL". Private School Universe Survey. National Center for Education Statistics. Archived from the original on September 2, 2023. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
2. SACS-CASI. "SACS-Council on Accreditation and School Improvement". Archived from the original on March 15, 2010. Retrieved June 23, 2009.
3. LedeAI. "East Nashville tacks win on Pope John Paul II in Tennessee high school football action". The Tennessean . Retrieved September 2, 2023.
4. "Five local teams earn top 10 rankings in season's first AP Tennessee football prep poll". WJHL-TV . August 22, 2023. Archived from the original on September 2, 2023. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
5. "Pope John Paul Ii High School". U.S. News and World Report . Archived from the original on September 1, 2023. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
6. "On the Set Behind the Scenes 'You Belong with Me'". Taylor Swift: On the Set. 20:45 minutes in. Great American Country.
7. Stoia, George. "Josef Newgarden tops Lions' Golden Tate in pingpong, wants LeBron next". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
8. Robinson, George (August 1, 2022). "Pitt commit Kenny Minchey of JPII knew football was his future, but he had to convince his parents first". The Tennessean. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
9. "I Blame My Brother: Katie Shea Collins's Competitive Drive". www.jp2prep.org. September 17, 2024.