Moving to M'boro...need school help please! (Murfreesboro, Franklin: homes, best schools)

[rlmomto5]

Hi:
We are considering a move from Franklin to M'boro before school starts. Yes, I know....not much time. I have 5 children...2 start kindergarten next year, one will be in 8th grade, and 2 are in high school. What schools do you recommend? My two youngest are adopted from Guatemala so diversity is important. I love Franklin, but the housing has gone up sooo much!

Also, are there many adoptive families in M'boro?

Thanks so much for any help/advice you can give me!.........Renee

[Mike in TN]

Originally Posted by rlmomto5

Hi:
We are considering a move from Franklin to M'boro before school starts. Yes, I know....not much time. I have 5 children...2 start kindergarten next year, one will be in 8th grade, and 2 are in high school. What schools do you recommend? My two youngest are adopted from Guatemala so diversity is important. I love Franklin, but the housing has gone up sooo much!

Also, are there many adoptive families in M'boro?

Thanks so much for any help/advice you can give me!.........Renee

I'm an education major at MTSU so I've spent a good amount of time at most of the schools in some for another, but haven't worked in them for experienced periods of time.

I'm sure a lot depends on what kind of place you can afford. If you are coming from Franklin, I doubt price is a big issue.

Conventional wisdom would suggest the Siegel schools (Elem., MS, and HS), but I don't think they are any better than many of the other schools.

Living in the Blackman area and have your kids attend Blackman Elementary, Middle, and High school would be a great option as well.

Moving to south side of town in the Barfield Elementary, Christian Middle, and Riverdale High zone would be a great choice as well.

My personal opinion is that the best schools in town are Bellwood Elementary (magnet school), Christiana Middle, and will soon be Oakland for high school. They have a new principal at Oakland, Butch Vaughn, who is a world-class administrator who has already had a great impact. He is about to have the school have state's sixth IB program, which is an excellent program to have; despite the school have a large portion of it's student body on the free/reduced lunch program. However, those schools are all in different zones.

If you could get your Elementary kids on a waiting list at Campus School, Bellwood, or McFadden it might not be a bad idea either.

I honestly can't tell you anything about the local adoption community.

[rlmomto5]

Mike,
Thanks for all your information! My two little one's are in pre-school here in Franklin ( Williamson County Schools). They were tested, and considered to be at risk due to the fact that they were born in a foreign country. We were told that their IEP could be used even if we moved to another county. Since you are an education major....do you happen to know anything about Rutherford county pre-school through the school system?

Thanks in advance,

Renee

[Mike in TN]

Renee,

I'm sorry, but I have no knowledge of anything Pre-K related with the city and county schools here. My licensure will be K-12 so I've only spent time in the Elementary and Secondary schoools.

I did look at the city and county websites, and the only thing I could find Pre-K related was a Pre-K program at Bellwood.

[topropeprincess]

Scales Elementary is great. Cason Elementary and Blackmon schools are good too. I live on the west side of town so these are my options. I don't know much about the others schools in the area, but I do know that they are pretty good. At least this is what I have been told.

[rlmomto5]

Thanks for your help...I appreciate it!!

[Pimpy]

I would suggest sending your kids to Scales Elementary. They take the some of the best field trips, and the teachers always conduct themselves with the utmost professionalism.

[wellkids]

Originally Posted by rlmomto5

Hi:
We are considering a move from Franklin to M'boro before school starts. Yes, I know....not much time. I have 5 children...2 start kindergarten next year, one will be in 8th grade, and 2 are in high school. What schools do you recommend? My two youngest are adopted from Guatemala so diversity is important. I love Franklin, but the housing has gone up sooo much!

Also, are there many adoptive families in M'boro?

Thanks so much for any help/advice you can give me!.........Renee

Hi Renee,

Murfreesboro is a very diverse community with excellent schools. The cost of homes in this area is significantly lower than Franklin. I have four children who have attended, or still attend the public schools here in Murfreesboro. We have been very pleased and my son is at MTSU on scholarship after graduating from Oakland. My two youngest attend Siegel which is awesome. You have so many choices in this area in housing and schools. There is also the option of attending the choice or magnet schools such as Campus, Bellwood, and McFadden. I don't think you could find a better schools anywhere. We currently do not have a magnet high school but they are considering turning Central Middle into a K-12 magnet in the near future. If you have any specific questions, feel free to email me or send me a PM. I'd be happy to help you any way I can. Good luck!