Nashville School Comparison (Franklin, Brentwood, Fairview: real estate, renting, chapel)

[septimus]

Here is an article in today's paper about the magnet schools in metro.
Metro Nashville sees decline in magnet school applications | tennessean.com | The Tennessean

[BirdieBelle]

We have friends who are pulling their child out of Head Middle to go to a private school. They really tried to make it work and they like the principal, but they feel there is a significant "us against them" attitude from the teachers toward the students.
The magnet schools are far from perfect.

[steindle]

Ironically the thing most likely to help that attitude persist is more parents taking their students out of public schools.

[Shino306]

Originally Posted by septimus

Here is an article in today's paper about the magnet schools in metro.
Metro Nashville sees decline in magnet school applications | tennessean.com | The Tennessean

To clarify the article for those, who do not read it, it did say apps were down for schools, where the children were not zoned to go as Nashville will let parents apply to schools where they do not live, however apps were really not down for MLK and HF.
One thing the OP should also keep in mind, is that if their child(ren) is/are accepted to the magnet schools, they're responsible for transporting them to and from downtown Nashville, buses are NOT provided.

[BirdieBelle]

Originally Posted by steindle

Ironically the thing most likely to help that attitude persist is more parents taking their students out of public schools.

I agree to some extent. They walked the walk for as long as they could. However, after 6 successful years in Metro schools, at Head their son was bullied for the first time, he had personal property stolen twice in his own classroom, and experienced animosity from his teachers for the first time.

It was not worth it.

[fiskkm]

Shino, that is EXACTLY the information I am seeking. I understand Brentwood and Franklin in particular have good schools - for Tennessee. But, school rating systems are very different by state as we have learned by moving quite a bit. Detroit, Cleveland, and Columbus had great schools, Denver had good schools (my wife taught in Cherry Creek schools), and Phoenix was pretty much terrible (to point my wife left teaching). So, your comparison between Cherry Creek and Nashville schools is very much appreciated. Any additional details would be great.

[Vandy-bound]

We've lived in other cities (Atlanta and Chicago suburbs) in top school districts for each state prior to moving to Nashville-Williamson County. We also seriously considered the Boston area several years ago and went so far as to house hunt and visit the schools our children would have attended. For the schools our children have attended (or would have in the case of Boston), including the WCS now, they are ALL comparable--not just for the state they were located in--and all are nationally recognized for academics, year after year showing up on the Top Schools list (Newsweek?) and having very high average ACT/SAT scores. We did consider the Nashville metro schools briefly, once we knew for certain we were moving to Nashville, but the uncertainty of making it in the magnet schools through the lottery concerned us, so we chose WCS instead. If test scores alone (and extra curriculars, etc) not the lottery process would guarantee entrance to the magnet schools, we might have chosen differently, though it's tough to say. We would rather not send the kids to private school, financially it's a huge expense, and we really liked the feel of the WCS schools our kids attend. I've not lived in any of the other cities you are looking to compare, but we have lived in other regions of the country and have found the WCS schools to be top-notch, not only for TN, but able to hold their own nationally.

And, our experience has also been that education is what you make of it. There are ample opportunities in Nashville for strong academically talented and/or gifted students to be educated and enriched. It's all in what you take advantage of.

Vandy-bound

[brentwoodgirl]

Here's a "by the numbers" comparision for you:

Cherry Creek District has 6 Highschools:
Greatschools. org ratings:
10- 1 school
9-0
8-2
7-2
3-1

Williamson County has 8 highschools:
10-3
9-2
8-1
7-1
6-1
Nothing below a 6.

Cherry Creek has about 50,000 students- 34 National Merit Finalists.

Williamson County has about 30,000 students- 16 National Merit Finalists.

Cherry Creek district average ACT score: 22

Williamson County district average: 22.7

[brentwoodgirl]

Comparing the top schools in each district (at least by the numbers)

CCHS- Average Act 24.4
Grandview- 22

BHS- Average ACT 25.4
Ravenwood 24.6

Newsweek's Best Highschools List 2010:
CCHS: #328
Grandview: #636

BHS: #218
RHS: #489

[fiskkm]

Those are some interesting some numbers. It appears, at least statistically, that some of the Williamson County schools are on par with Cherry Creek in the Denver area. That's good news. So, here is my next question so I can do additional research. What are the absolute best public schools in Williamson County? Assuming I can in any area in the county (Brentwood, Franklin, etc), where should I choose to live to be in the top schools?

Also, this decision is WAY down the road for our daughter, but does Tennessee offer any incentives for in-state college-bound students? For instance, Arizona gives the top 10% of graduates a free tuition scholarship at one of its state schools. Other states, like Virginia and Texas, lock in today's tuition rates in exchange for starting a related state savings plan. Does Tennessee have anything similar for its state schools?