Rutherford County, TN High Schools (Oakland, Eagleville: roughest, theatre, zoned)

[frisbee]

My son will start high school next year and we are examining all of our available options. I'd like to hear from parents (or students) who currently have kids at Riverdale, Oakland, Blackman, or Eagleville. We are zoned for Riverdale, but I"m put off by its size, the arrogant motto (the greatest students in the state...), and by the racism of the Warrior traditions (student seating section called the reservation, Smoke Signals newspaper, Chief Win-em-all mascot). I'm worried about the principal's lack of perception since he doesn't seem to recognize this as racist.

My kids are not interested in sports at all. They're reasonably academic and arts oriented. Of course, I mainly want a friendly school with decent academics. Oppotunities for non-athletic types to feel involved would be a nice plus (theatre, robotics...).

[Mike in TN]

I've had experiences of all listed, with the exception of BHS.

Honestly, all four are fine.

Here's some quick thoughts...

RHS - huge school with a strong sports influence,

EHS - low-key, country atmosphere

OHS - you get probably the brightest and the roughest kids in the county at that school, very diverse

BHS - probably a good balance of everything

If I could pick any of the four, I'd choose OHS if my kid could get into the IB program. If not, I'd like them to go to RHS.

[frisbee]

Mike in TN, thanks for the response. You seem to have quite a bit of experience with the local schools.