School systems in the Chattanooga area (East Brainerd, Signal Mountain: how much, house, buy)

[Poor Farmer 1997]

My husband and I are looking into moving to the Chattanooga area later this summer. We have three young children. This coming Fall, we will have a 3rd grade student and a Kindergartner.

Education is important to us.

What is the best school area in Chattanooga?

Do the school systems observe year-round school?

What is the normal fee per year for elementary aged students?

Is there any other info. that you think we need in order to make the best possible decision(s) regarding our children's education?

Thank you,

Christina

[Poor Farmer 1997]

Ok.....I am very concerned. Are there no good schools in the Chattanooga area!?!

Education is very important to me. I will not move to an area that doesn't have a good school system.

Please help!

Thanks!

[Rick26]

Poor Farmer;
Sorry that you haven't received a response to your post. I think you'll find that you get some feedback if your questions are a little more specific. "What is the best school area in Chattanooga?" is pretty subjective and, as you may imagine, the answer could be all over the place depending on someone's own experience with Chattanooga schools. So, with that said, I'll give you MY input (no, we don't have school-age children anymore, but we do "hear" things about area schools...)
1. Best Area
There is no "best" area. As with most larger cities, good schools are scattered all around. Again, like most cities, better schools tend to be in "better" (social, economic) areas...BUT, not always. That's why you need to provide more details about your requirements/wishes for a school. Don't worry about getting too specific...the more we know, the more we (on this forum) can offer our input.
2. Year-round
No, as a rule, most schools (all that I know of) have a summer break. However, I would expect some secondary schools MAY have a few programs to offer during the summer. I know that Chattanooga State (local community college) has a specialized secondary (high school) program and they may have full-time classes available. Check out www.chattanoogastate.edu and click on the "high school" link.
3. Elementary fee
There is no "normal" fee for elementary school students. I believe most "fees" are unique to the school and/or class(teacher). As I have said, if you give a specific reason for your concern, then others may be able to give better answers to your question(s).
4. Other info
Yes, by all means...please give us more details about your concerns for your children's education. As I've said before, don't worry about being too specific. I'm sure you'll get more feedback soon.
BTW...there are numerous previous posts on this forum about education/schools in the Chattanooga area. I assume that you have read all of these as, I'm sure, they could answer many of your questions without you having to ask them. (Forum members are reluctant to re-state infinite details that they have already posted.)
Thanks for looking at Chattanooga. Most of us on this forum love it here (there's always a "sour mouth" or two in every town). We believe you'll love it here, too.
---Rick26

[Rick26]

PoorFarmer,
Sorry, I didn't notice that your kids are elementary age only. Skip the info about Chatt. State. Take a look at the Hamilton Co. Schools website (www.hcde.org). My bad.
---Rick26

[cpkred503]

Keeping in mind that most American public schools are just as mediocre no matter where you go when it comes to curriculum & textbooks, if you want to live in a decent area you may want to try the Ooltewah/Collegedale area. I've heard most public schools in Hamilton Co. are average. Most people with money send their kids to one of the expensive private schools. A guy I know who works in Chattanooga, his boss sent his kid to Baylor and said while it was probably better than most of the area public schools, he didn't think it was worth the high price tag.

[An Einnseanair]

Sorry I missed this earlier...

All of Hamilton County, city and rural, is governed by a single school district separated into separate zones. Their web site is www.hcde.org.

All schools get the same (approximate) funding per student and pull from the same general teacher pool and are run by the same school board. What makes the difference between a "good" school and a "not as good" school is 1) student quality, 2) parent participation, and 3) extra money from other sources such as PTA fundraising.

As Rick stated, the "better" schools are, in general, in the better socio-economic areas. For elementary students, these areas would be Westview (East Brainerd area), Apison, Ooltewah, Normal Park (zoned magnet school north of downtown), and Signal Mountain. Zoning maps are here. Keep in mind that the school board is constantly adjusting zoning to balance student populations, so if you are set on a particular school pick a house that is solidly inside the zone.

All Hamilton County schools follow the traditional summer break pattern. Although, the "winter break" is longer than usual (almost 3 weeks) and we add a week-long fall break in October, so we start earlier (August 7 next session) and end later (usually right at Memorial Day) than most schools.

I forget how much the fees are... less than $100, but there are need-based exemptions. Plus you have to provide certain supplies at the beginning of the year; a certain number of a certain type of folder in certain colors, pencils, glue, etc. We just pay the PTA $85 and they buy the supplies for us as a fundraiser. But if you are a good shopper and have the time you can get them for much less.