Question on Tennessee school system

[Shygal]

Hey all, Not sure if this is technically a homesteading question, well maybe because it might be where Im going to homestead in the future. heh.

When I graduate in May, I will pretty much be able to go whereever I want to in the US....the thing is, I dont know where I want to go

Im tired of the Vermont winters. I dont mind snow but not 6 months of it. Ive always loved Wisconsin but the winters there scare me...so Ive been looking south. Tennessee and Kentucky have been kinda calling my name, heh. Ive really liked what Ive seen and heard about Tennessee except for one thing, I keep hearing that the school system in Tennessee is...not good. In fact, less than not good.
Is this so? Anyone with good stories about it/horror stories about it to share?
What about Kentucky? Ive loved Virginia but its getting too much like a bedroom of Washington . My dad and brother are in Florida but I dont want to go that far south. Id be interested in hearing about WV as well.

Thanks, and if this isnt a homesteading question, Ill see you in CF

[patarini]

Kids around here seem to do ok in school, but why not homeschool?

[Shygal]

I tried homeschooling,and its just not for me I don't have the patience to do it, I would LOVE to have been able to but I tried and it was just not right for us.

[Red Devil TN]

Generally... Look in Sumner or Williamson counties. Stay out of Davidson.

I'll say this, while not the same as up north, I had my kids in one of the better school systems in MA. They were a bit ahead down here when we came down and there were less students/teacher. The teachers seem to take more interset down here, however, I hear rumblings that special needs kids are overlooked much more down here. So far I've been impressed, but next year when both the boys are in school I'll see some more. It's a hard call unless someone has spent a few years in more than one system to compare.

[marvella]

let's put it this way.

tennessee is #1 in the country for new roads.

it is #48 for schools.

how's that?

imo, the closer you are to a big city the better the schools will be.

[Jeslik]

It all depends on where you go, and what level school you're talking about. The real problem with Tennessee schools (historically) is that they had no funding; the state has no income tax, and we all love that... but there were several years this decade when my mother (who works in the University system) was forced to take time off because there was no money in the budget. And 3 people just retired from her department, and they are not being replaced...

My first 4 grades were in Bristol, TN. This was 25 years ago, and I assume things might have changed just a tad. But my grade school was excellent; there were always artists & authors coming through our area, and doing readings in the school as part of some TVA project.

I went to TTU in Cookeville for a year, and had good feelings about it. UT(Knoxville) is a great school, and home of the only sports teams I ever watch. In Nashville, I went to some classes at the local community college, and had positive experiences.

[Red Devil TN]

Um... what were the ranking requirements? Even where it scores 41 here: http://www.morganquitno.com/edrank04.htm

They even take into account expendetures per pupil etc. A few problems with these studies is that it costs more for a teacher in MA than in TN or WV etc. Land and overhead is cheaper etc. Additionally, unlike in MA here in TN (at least where my son goes) the parents have to buy supplies and books for the year, in MA it is ALL supplied by the school.

That said, the national graduation rate for the public school class of 2000 was 69% (in '98 it was 71%). TN pulled only a 60% while MA pulled a 73%. Ranked 46th and 20th repectively. http://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/cr_baeo_t2.htm From my understanding of his article http://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/cr_baeo.htm these figures are also calculated, using large cities as his basis. As I previously mentioned, Davidson county schools generally suck. As compared to Sumner and Williamson... well, you just can't fairly.

That all said, I still think that the school system we are in now is better than the one we left, AND that every thing else that people are using for these ranking things is superfluous to the combination of the school system and the parents. THAT is what I think is wholly overlooked and never addressed.

[Beeman]

TN schools mission statement should be " We strive for mediocrity". Basically as the parent of 2 that have gone to TN public school and a TN university I can say that they've earned their reputation. They always depended on MS to keep them out of the last place ranking. They do all they can to trump up the numbers and still come out looking bad. Our system is full of nepotism from the superintendant on down to the janitor.

[Muskrat]

Sweeping generalizations are just that--generalizations. Some Tennessee school systems are good, some are poor. Even schools within a system will vary.

As for universities, I don't know that I would call Vanderbilt mediocre, unless there has been drastic change since I was last there.

In my experience, there is little difference between the schools of Kentucky, Tennessee, and West Virginia when taken as a statewide entity. All of them have some schools that are pitiful and some that will compete with the best.

My thought would be to find the area you're interested in homesteading and then make inquiries of the particular school system.

[Red Devil TN]

Yep, which is why used 'generally' in my post. You get some good and some bad and then you get Davidson 'County'.

[Ken Scharabok]

Also keep in mind TN has a state lottery funded higher education scholarship program. To qualify a student must maintain a B average in school or score a certain number on the ACT. Homeschoolers can qualify also via ACT score. Don't know full details but it is not a full scholarship and has some application to post high school technical schools. Only covers tuition and books to some extent. Students on the scholarship have to maintain a B average.

[Shygal]

Originally Posted by Red Devil TN

Yep, which is why used 'generally' in my post. You get some good and some bad and then you get Davidson 'County'.

Ok so where is Davidson county and what makes it worth so much mention to stay away from? lol

[vancom]

I live in Williamson County, one county south of Davidson County--Nashville is in Davidson County. We moved to TN in 1998, escaping the crowds of Los Angeles. We have 3 children, now 13, 12 and 8.

We fought the Davidson County school system for too many years before we said the heck with it, cashed in our chips and moved to the country where land is $15,000 an acre--we have a huge mortgage but I feel that my children are finally getting a quality education. And that's what you pay for when you buy a house here--the reputation re education and a proximity to Nashville where the "city" jobs usually are.

While in Davidson we tried our zoned school, then moved all into a magnet program (Paideia and then arts school) and finally said adios when we struggled for nearly one entire school year to have our eldest declared eligible for special services--I guess they figured an early 4th grade reading ability in late 6th grade didn't show any particular disability--we just weren't doing OUR job.

I love TN, and wouldn't leave. I have heard great things about KY schools, though. Just my .02 cents worth.

Vanessa

[Ken Scharabok]

Your decision should be based on far more than schools.

For the most part TN's economy is quite robust. I know in the Nashville area they essentially have a negative unemployment rate in that they have pretty well exhausted the available pool of qualified job seekers. Forbes Magazine recently named Nashville as the best city to live in in the entire U.S.

Then there is the cost of living. I suspect if you found an equivalent paying job your take home pay would be at least one third higher than in MA (Tax-a-tuses). As noted above, TN does not have a state income tax, but rather uses a high state sales tax on most everything (9.25-9.75%) - including groceries. Every time the state legislature mentions a state income tax they at met with very robust citizen opposition. Not the concept of the tax, per se, but lack of trust of the politicians to not raise it when they get into a budget funding problem.

If you live in a $200K house in MA, you can probably buy a McMansion in TN.

On the state budget it is balanced and, in fact, this year there was a pretty hefty windfall to divvy out. The governor has worked very hard to get TnCare funding under control.

Could the state's school system use more money. My view is you could double their budget and not get any significant improvement in overall results.

Climate is temperate in most of the state so you save not only on H&AC, but also on a need for fewer heavy winter clothing and less wear and tear on vehicles. On lists TN generally is listed in the bottom 1/5th on cost of living.

Because of it's length, TN is considered to be three states in one (why there are three starts on the state's flag). The eastern third is more associated with the Appalachian states with pretty well Knoxville as the focus city. The middle third is more mid-west oriented with Nashville as the focus city. The western third is most associated with The South with Memphis as the focus city.

At least locally the price of land continues to soar. I paid $460 acre for my farmland when I purchased in 1991. The same type lands goes to $1,500-2,000 acre now.

[BigDaddy40]

where has throwing money at a problem ever worked?

i'm sorry, i would never pay $15k per acre cuz of schools.

[Mid Tn Mama]

I think it depends on where you are and what needs your kids have. We are in a rural school district, having moved here from a district that had almost the highest paid teachers and the highest level of education of parents in the country.

Most professionals here send their kids to private schools. Our kids do well here in the public school(as compared nationally) as they did in the "best" school district. We don't have the bells and whistles, but you know what? There is discipline here. There aren't gangs and if you threaten someone--guess what, you are out of there.

Yes, there used to be cultural programs and field trips galore in the "best" school district--but frankly we do these things as a family and I'd rather they didn't ride up and down the interstate on a school bus doing it.

Yes, there are children who are very behind in their reading, but there are many many parents who are also functionally illiterate. I cant' say whose fault that is, but pervasive poverty for generations has something to do with it. Even the best schools in the country with the best teachers cannot overcome some things.

In our area there is a lot of meth--which means there are many, many, many foster children who are bouncing between homes and schools. They don't finish a lesson, much less a school year. Could the best school in the world answer the problem of meth?

And there is a lot of poverty. Yes there are school free breakfast and lunch programs if you qualify, but not everyone signs up. If you are strung out on meth, you aren't really that concerned about the school lunch program.