Well Rounded Elementary Schools in Seymour, Fountain City, and West Knoxville (Hopewell: for rent, townhouse)

[pdadda]

So it looks like I will be moving to Knoxville in a few weeks for a new job, and I will be in town house hunting this coming weekend. From what I have read (and from visiting a few areas last time I was up there), I plan to focus on Fountain City, Seymour, and a few of the close-in West Knoxville suburbs (Sequoyah Hills and Bearden). While I am checking out housing, I am also really interested in finding good elementary schools. I think GreatSchools is good at letting me know what schools are really bad (as I do believe test scores mean something), but I don't believe a school's merit is on test scores alone. My kid currently goes to a school with a great rating, but they focus SO much on test prep its a little ridiculous. I want her to enjoy school and learning. With that said, does anyone have any specific praises or suggestions as far as schools? In particular, I am currently looking at:

Sequoyah Elementary
Bearden Elementary
Fountain City Elementary
Sterchi Elementary
Seymour Primary School

[hiknapster]

My daughter attended Sterchi. It's a WONDERFUL school. Previously she was at Copper Ridge and she was a little behind. She entered Sterchi in third grade and they had her caught up in a month. I really feel that Sterchi was life altering for her. The teachers were absolutely amazing, the best I've ever seen and I've had lots of experience with schools over the years and from different locations in the North and Florida.

[c0wb0yup]

My kids are in Seymour Schools. The youngest is in Kindergarten, she really likes it. Looks forward to going, is reading almost second grade level. I know someone that substitute teaches at the primary (K-2) and intermediate (3-5) schools and has nothing but good things to say about them. The only bad thing I see is the traffic can get a little congested when picking up in the afternoon, but they keep it moving. Good luck!

*EDIT TO ADD*
The location known as Seymour is partly in Blount County, Knox County, and Sevier County. As I understand it, you have to live within Sevier County for your children to go to Seymour Schools.

[pdadda]

Thanks for the tip on counties and zoning for Seymour schools.

[pdadda]

I drove past Seymour Intermediate School yesterday. It was a nice looking school, but I noticed that the fence that surrounds it has barbed wire along the top. That is the first time I have seen that at an elementary school. Anything else I should know about the area around that school?

[BushyMule]

Sterchi is a pretty respected school in Knoxville. My gf teaches at Bearden Elementary and it is a good school as well. I have nothing against the county schools (I was educated in one) but find the general student and attitude are not as good as you can find in the city schools. In my theory, so take it with a grain of salt here, children are heavily influenced by their peers and surroundings. If they attend a school with children that come from well-educated homes then they will be positively influenced by this. There are plenty of fine, educated people living in Seymour but in general working professionals tend to live near city centers.

I am not familiar with the immediate area around Seymour elementary but I can say that I've never heard of Seymour being an unsafe place in any fashion. County schools just seem to do that around here.

[c0wb0yup]

The barbed wire may be to keep air conditioning parts from being stolen by copper thieves. Or it may be for kids safety, as it is on the same property as the high school. There are no "bad" areas around the schools or "bad" neighborhoods either. Good luck with your search. If i can attempt to answer anything else about Seymour, feel free to ask.

[creeksitter]

Bonny Kate and New Hopewell schools in south Knox county are well thought of. There are limited townhouse developments but you might find a house for rent in those zones.