Rutherford County schools (Memphis, Murfreesboro, Franklin: 2013, house, magnet school)

[seanf12]

Good morning everyone,

I've read lots of posts (and thanks to everyone for all of the great information) on what towns are best,e tc. but I haven't read much in terms of Rutherford county schools. I know Williamson is the best, but are some of the other counties such as Wilson, Sumner and Rutherford good choices as well? Are there any schools we should absolutely try to avoid?


Thanks!

[vivelafrance]

Originally Posted by seanf12

Good morning everyone,

I've read lots of posts (and thanks to everyone for all of the great information) on what towns are best,e tc. but I haven't read much in terms of Rutherford county schools. I know Williamson is the best, but are some of the other counties such as Wilson, Sumner and Rutherford good choices as well? Are there any schools we should absolutely try to avoid?


Thanks!

Wilson, Sumner, and Rutherford all have good schools but they depend more on the community than the county as a while.

In Sumner Hendersonville schools are best and parts of Gallatin

In Wilson it's Mount Juliet

In Rutherford it's parts of Murfreesboro and Smyrna

I would avoid schools that zone to Lebanon High in Wilson and Gallatin High in Sumner. I would avoid LaVergne High in Rutherford. I don't know too much about the M'boro schools but I believe Siegel and Blackman are the best.

Sumner and Rutherford also have magnet school programs.

[seanf12]

Thanks!

Is there a huge drop off between these counties and Williamson, in terms of quality?

[TVofM]

Avoid LaVergne, Smyrna, and Riverdale High Schools in favor of Blackman, Siegel, Oakland (IB program), Central Magnet, and in 2013 Stewarts Creek when it opens.

[vivelafrance]

Originally Posted by seanf12

Thanks!

Is there a huge drop off between these counties and Williamson, in terms of quality?

Not in the communities I mentioned.

The big difference is really that Williamson is much more white collar suburban. The only rural city is Fairview and it's becoming more suburban all the time.

In Wilson and Sumner county you have some very white collar suburban communities near the Nashville border but also some very rural/poorer areas like Westmoreland in Sumner and Watertown in Wilson.

Rutherford has some of the rural areas too but it also has areas like La Vergne that have received a lot of inner-city type problems from the urban sprawl down I-24.

[Raiderstudent]

Originally Posted by seanf12

Thanks!

Is there a huge drop off between these counties and Williamson, in terms of quality?

Depends on the schools. Not all Williamson schools are top tier, but the same goes for every county in question. This has not been updated in a few years, but you'll see elementary rankings here...

Ranking of Elementary Schools in Tennessee

Williamson does seem to have the most proficient schools as a whole, but looking at Hendersonville in Sumner Country, Indian lake Elementary is in the top 20 and Nannie Berry is in the top 50. These schools flow into Ellis Middle School and Hendersonville High School. All great schools IMO.

So, no, I don't think there is necessarily a drop off at all if comparing specific schools, but I will agree there is a drop off when comparing counties as a whole.

[BirdieBelle]

There is not a HUGE dropoff when comparing the systems as a whole.

Here is the state report card for the Rutherford system:

Tennessee Department of Education - Report Card - Achievement

Here is the state report card for the Williamson system:

Tennessee Department of Education - Report Card - Achievement

Note that there are tabs that allow you to compare different types of info.

One things to look at is what kind of classes area offered and how many AP/honors classes are offered. That info is available from the individual schools.

When you compare scores, like TCAP and average ACT scores, Williamson ranks higher. Graduation rates are slightly higher. Williamson has far fewer suspensions & discipline problems. Williamson has nationally ranked high schools.

But overall it's not like you are choosing a much worse future for your child if you live in Rutherford.

I don't know much about where Rutherford kids go to college. Whether a school is better than another will depend on what YOU and your family think is valuable.

[brentwoodgirl]

Originally Posted by Raiderstudent

Depends on the schools. Not all Williamson schools are top tier, but the same goes for every county in question. This has not been updated in a few years, but you'll see elementary rankings here...

Ranking of Elementary Schools in Tennessee

Williamson does seem to have the most proficient schools as a whole, but looking at Hendersonville in Sumner Country, Indian lake Elementary is in the top 20 and Nannie Berry is in the top 50. These schools flow into Ellis Middle School and Hendersonville High School. All great schools IMO.

So, no, I don't think there is necessarily a drop off at all if comparing specific schools, but I will agree there is a drop off when comparing counties as a whole.

That website doesn't seem accurate. For instance, Keystone in Memphis is listed as the 5th best elementary in the state, but the TCAP scores for Keystone are all below the state average. 3rd grade Math proficiency is 34% for Keystone, and 48% average in all TN schools.

Keystone Elementary School Test Scores - Memphis, Tennessee - TN

Likewise for Delano, #17, also in Memphis.

And Percy Priest in Nashville, with scores similar to the higher Williamson County elementaries, is ranked 67, lower than quite a few schools with questionable TCAP scores and mid to low greatschools rankings.

[ExIslander]

I concur with some of the posts above. I would be happy to have my kids in Williamson schools, but they're not a magic bullet. When we researched schools upon moving to Tennessee, we realized that if we couldn't afford a house we liked in Brentwood and Franklin, there was little or no difference in school performance between the rest of Williamson and the other counties when comparing similar socioeconomic zones. But you do have to be more careful about knowing your zones in the other counties.

[PTN96]

I have 2 children in the Rutherford County school system and thus far have been very impressed. Our son has a few emotional issues and his doctor is impressed that thus far we have not had to use an IEP. The schools and teachers have worked with us and stay in communication with us. Our daughter is in 1st grade and had a slight speach issue that was detected immediately. My husband and I are both active in Scouting activities and in talking with parents in many different schools we have heard of few problems. The schools my children attend get high schools on the great schools website.