Rivercrest Elementary (Memphis, Bartlett, Brownsville: home, neighborhoods, middle school)

[tmr325]

Can anyone tell me about Rivercrest Elementary School? It's ratings are a little lower on Great Schools but can't seem to find out much more.

[UofMGrad92]

There is a large portion of the student population at Rivercrest that is bussed in from areas on the northeast side of Frayser and the north side of Raleigh. These areas aren't in Bartlett and are in the Memphis annexation reserve, but since they haven't been annexed they attend Shelby County Schools. The families in those areas don't really match the typical background of a Bartlett resident (they tend to be lower income and have a less stable home environment), and it has caused some issues at the school. I have friends whose children are at Rivercrest and they have great things to say about the administration and the faculty, but the school doesn't fit the typical profile of a Bartlett school.

When Memphis annexes these areas, the children in those areas will go to Memphis City Schools. It is anyone's guess when or if that will happen. In the meantime, the children in those areas are farmed out to the schools in south Millington and northwest Bartlett. The good news is that the Shelby County School administration seems to understand that you need a strong leader in these schools. For example, Shadowlawn Middle School (also in Bartlett off of Old Brownsville) had some discipline issues a few years ago that were likely driven by having the principal job change hands a couple of times in three years and having principals who wouldn't or couldn't maintain discipline. When the problems started, they moved a principal from another area middle school that was well respected to Shadowlawn. Now things are much better on the discipline front, and while Shadowlawn has the same issues as Rivercrest (as far as the background of a good number of the students goes), I have friends whose kids are there and they are happy with the school.

Here are a couple of links from the state that tell a bit about the schools I've mentioned:

Shadowlawn: Tennessee Department of Education - Report Card - Profile

Rivercrest: Tennessee Department of Education - Report Card - Profile

The Bartlett neighborhoods that are served by these schools are nice and safe. You are actually very remote from any bad areas of Memphis but have pretty easy access to shopping and dining in the Wolfchase area. The schools are an issue, but if you go into it with your eyes open I think you'd be fine.

[tmr325]

Thank you so much for that valuable information