Knox Schools ranked No. 3 in Tennessee

Knox County Schools has been ranked as the third top school district in Tennessee by BackgroundChecks.org, following first-place Williamson County School District and Shelby County School District.

The website states that it allows users to track down online public records and complete an online background check.

The site noted that it ranked school districts on several factors, including number of students, graduation rate, teacher quality, school funding, student- to-teacher ratio, and standardized test results in reading and math in terms of the percentage of students scoring at or above state proficiency level.

BackgroundChecks.org pointed to Knox County Schools’ strengths as a district that has achieved a graduation rate of more than 90%, while 51% of graduating students qualify for the Tennessee HOPE Scholarship.

Rankings were completed for more than 10,000 schools across the U.S. with information collected from databases housed in the national Center for Education Statistics and the U.S. Department of Education, according to a news release from BackgroundChecks.org.

“I am very proud to see Knox County Schools ranked in the top three of all school districts across the state,” Superintendent Bob Thomas said in a statement to the News Sentinel. “Our teachers and administrators are working hard every day to make sure we are focused on providing the best educational opportunities for all of our students, and they are having an impact. We are seeing a lot of great work in our schools and we are committed to our students’ continued success and achievement.”

Knox County Schools Board of Education Chairwoman Terry Hill said the ranking suited the district.

“I certainly think we are third place or better in the state of Tennessee,” Hill said. “We do an outstanding job for a large district and make the most of our assets and our resources, and I’m always pleased when we are recognized in any kind of a national ranking.”

School board representative Patti Bounds largely credited Thomas’ narrow focus on top priorities for the high ranking.

“We have worked very hard, and I think our superintendent has stayed laser focused on the things that will help improve our school district,” Bounds said, pointing to the district’s most pressing concerns of academic achievement, spreading a positive culture and eliminating disparities.

Bounds added that “any news like that is good news” and impactful for the community.

“I’m sure it will be meaningful to the community to know that we are achieving success in Knox County,” she said.

Source: Knoxville News Sentinel, Erica Breunlin

The East Tennessee Economic Development Agency markets and recruits business for the 15 counties in the greater Knoxville-Oak Ridge region of East Tennessee. Visit www.eteda.org

 

Published May 3, 2019