Is South Inglewood safe for family with small children? (Brentwood: houses, neighborhoods)

[jlh3z]

...Particularly looking at McClurken Ave. Also wondering if anyone has to commute to Brentwood from that area. What am I looking at with rush hour traffic? Anyone know anything about schools personally? Looks like it's zoned for Hattie Cotton elementary, Gra-Mar middle, and Maplewood Comp High.

[BirdieBelle]

Unfortunately, the schools are some of the lowest rated in Nashville. At Hattie Cotton, which will become a magnet school next year, 95% of kids are on free or reduced lunch, which is an indicator of the poverty level of the general student population.
Maplewood's consistently known for gang-related incidents and had more than 400 students suspended in 2010.
I would try another neighborhood.

[mlp206]

I actually live and work in East Nashville and South Inglewood is safe for families..I can't comment on schools because I am a Realtor even though I try not to promote myself on this forum. I mention this only because I relocate folks to South Inglewood all the time with families. Now, if schools are a main concern for you then you do want to do research and I say this as a parent myself. One thing I will say is that there are options and I will agree that they are not great in Nashville. But the previous poster is sorta implying that kids on free lunches are indicative of the Schools performance which is not always the case. My son goes to Lockeland Design Center in East Nashville and is a high performing Elementary Magnent school but it also has its own issues.

If you are wanting to move to East Nashville and are budget minded and schools are important, I would look at schools in the Stratford HS cluster. Meaning zoned for Stratford. East Nashville has some great neighborhoods and Inglewood happens to be one of them.

Best of luck!

[jlh3z]

Thanks for the input. I know there have been a lot of questions on this forum about Inglewood previously, but it's just so hard to tell from street to street which areas are best unless you ask the people who know it best, the ones that live there.

[BirdieBelle]

Originally Posted by mlp206

But the previous poster is sorta implying that kids on free lunches are indicative of the Schools performance which is not always the case.

I never said anything about the school's performance. I said it was low-rated, which it is. For specifics, Cotton Elementary students received all Fs on the TCAP.

Tennessee Department of Education - Report Card - Achievement

I then separately pointed out the poverty factor as an indicator of the school's population, which is who the OP's kids would be going to school with daily. If the OP feels like that is a good fit for them, great.

Your conclusions are your own.

[Carol McCullough]

Originally Posted by jlh3z

...Particularly looking at McClurken Ave. Also wondering if anyone has to commute to Brentwood from that area. What am I looking at with rush hour traffic? Anyone know anything about schools personally? Looks like it's zoned for Hattie Cotton elementary, Gra-Mar middle, and Maplewood Comp High.

I don't live in Inglewood, but Dan Mills Elementary offers open enrollment (meaning you don't have to be zoned for the school to apply for enrollment) and my son goes to school there. I absolutely love it and my 1st grade son is thriving there. It would be a short (5-7 minutes) commute from McClurkan to get to Dan Mills.

On the subject of safety, you might want to visit at different times and drive nearby streets as well. Brasher Street, which is nearby, has had some problems with multiple drug houses in the past (which may be resolved, as it has been several years since I heard anything about it). The neighborhood you are looking at around NADC (the Nashville Auto Diesel College) is considered the Renraw Community. It is my understanding that this neighborhood group is not meeting regularly right now, but I think they still get together now and then.

Personally, I wouldn't want to commute to Brentwood from East Nashville/Inglewood, but I don't tolerate commutes over 15 minutes very well. Your biggest hurdle would be getting through the snarl of rush hour commuters to downtown, as once you got past that onto I-65, you would be headed opposite most commuters and would be able to move at a pretty reasonable pace. I would *guess* you would be looking at something like a 20-5 minute commute. Perhaps, longer on bad days and depending on how far from the interstate you are headed into Brentwood.

[jlh3z]

Thanks, good info. I will check it out!