Best suburbs of Nashville (Franklin, Hendersonville: for sale, insurance, houses)

[brentwoodgirl]

Edmondson Elementary.

There are some open zone schools you can apply to attend. Brentwood HS is one of those. I think they have 50 open spots. But preference is given to certain areas- this year Grassland Middle students got the preference.

[BirdieBelle]

Originally Posted by NJtoTN

I am assuming this school is in Brentwood? What is the name of the school?

Edmondson Elementary in Brentwood is a great school. I also recommend Lipscomb and Scales.

I think Brentwood High is open-zoned without special preference to certain areas. Better check the with the school to be sure, though.

http://www.wcs.edu/bhs/

[vivelafrance]

Originally Posted by NJtoTN

I'm interested in towns just outside Nashville, we need to be close enough for an hour or less commute to the airport (husband travels for work), but don't want to live in the city of Nashville itself... some places I've put on the list were Franklin, Hendersonville, Spring Hill, Clarksville, Kingston springs. Any insight to schools in those areas? Does anyone have a good website to go to to find out about schools? Any feedback on the places I've listed would be much appreciated!!

Hendersonville Schools are great. Best elementary schools are Indian Lake, Beech, Madison Creek, Nannie Berry, Station Camp, and Jack Anderson. There's also a great magnet school (K-12) at Merrol Hyde.

All the schools have up to date computers, nice facilities, related arts education, etc.

Of the cities you listed, Hendersonville is also the closest to the airport for commuting.

[BirdieBelle]

Originally Posted by septimus

Our urban school district that was considered one of the worst in the state was better than Williamson in terms of offerings, academic programs etc. The public high school sent at least 20 students every year to Harvard, Yale, Princeton, MIT, Stanford, etc. I don't see those schools listed when people list where they are going to college from the public schools (or even a lot of the private schools.)

I think this is quite a brush-off. Whether or not local kids matriculate into Ivy League schools is due more to a regional and parental influence than the quality of the local schools.
Also, some of the college choices at local private schools are influenced by the counselors at that school. Brentwood Academy tends to send a lot of kids to colleges that are very similar to BA: small, private religious institutions like Samford, Belmont, David Lipscomb and Birmingham Southern, for example. Lately more BA kids are choosing schools like Ole Miss and Auburn, which are not exactly Ivy League. So there goes the "private schools are better" theory.
Occasionally kids from here will go up north or out to Stanford. But they also will attend schools like Duke, UVA, and Vanderbilt, which are known to offer pretty good programs.
If you hold the Ivy League as the only measuring stick for success, like Septimus, then you should encourage your kids toward that goal regardless of where you live. If they work hard, they could get in even with a diploma from Williamson County and maybe without having Spanish or Mandarin in kindergarten.
Ivy League is great for some. Others know you can also have a happy life even if you get an education in the Southeast.

[EMERALD MOM]

HI, just read your great words about Hendersonville. we are a family of five living in dublin ireland and thinking of making the move to TENNESSEE. WE have been looking at Hendersonville and would love to live on the lake. As my boys are rugby players we were thinking of maybe sending them to Father RYAN HS IN NASHVILLE. would you know how far a trip it would be to this school from Hendersonville and also what is the housing market like at the moment as my husband is with RE/MAX here in dublin and would like to sell real estate in Nashville.Thanks for your help.

[vivelafrance]

Originally Posted by EMERALD MOM

HI, just read your great words about Hendersonville. we are a family of five living in dublin ireland and thinking of making the move to TENNESSEE. WE have been looking at Hendersonville and would love to live on the lake. As my boys are rugby players we were thinking of maybe sending them to Father RYAN HS IN NASHVILLE. would you know how far a trip it would be to this school from Hendersonville and also what is the housing market like at the moment as my husband is with RE/MAX here in dublin and would like to sell real estate in Nashville.Thanks for your help.

A lot of Hendersonville kids used to attend Father Ryan before Pope John Paul II was built in Hendersonville. Father Ryan would be a bit out of the way (20 min sans traffic)unless you worked in Nashville and could drop them off on your way to work. I don't know if they offer rugby but PJP II is a wonderful school if you are looking to go the private/catholic route.

The real estate market is not too bad. Home sales have been picking up quite a bit but prices are still down since the recession.

Good Luck in your move, if you have any specific questions, feel free to message me!

[Antioch]

Originally Posted by Wmsn4Life

The magnet schools in Nashville are a HUGE gamble because you are not guaranteed admission. In fact, the ONLY middle schools in Nashville that offer advanced classes are magnet schools. And yet not every Metro student has an equal opportunity to attend those schools.
That is messed up.
As pitiful as Septimus makes them sound, Williamson County schools are considered the best public schools in the area. At least, that's according to the only concrete ranking info available (test scores, graduation rates, number of AP classes, etc.).

All of Metro middle schools offer advanced classes, high school credit, starting at 7th grade. Algebra 1, Geometry, IPS (Introdutory to Physical Science, Foreign Language, to name a few.

[BirdieBelle]

Originally Posted by Antioch

All of Metro middle schools offer advanced classes, high school credit, starting at 7th grade. Algebra 1, Geometry, IPS (Introdutory to Physical Science, Foreign Language, to name a few.

My apologies. Apparently I got some incorrect anecdotal information.
Also, JT Moore apparently even offers the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme.

[septimus]

Originally Posted by Wmsn4Life

I think this is quite a brush-off. Whether or not local kids matriculate into Ivy League schools is due more to a regional and parental influence than the quality of the local schools.
Also, some of the college choices at local private schools are influenced by the counselors at that school. Brentwood Academy tends to send a lot of kids to colleges that are very similar to BA: small, private religious institutions like Samford, Belmont, David Lipscomb and Birmingham Southern, for example. Lately more BA kids are choosing schools like Ole Miss and Auburn, which are not exactly Ivy League. So there goes the "private schools are better" theory.
Occasionally kids from here will go up north or out to Stanford. But they also will attend schools like Duke, UVA, and Vanderbilt, which are known to offer pretty good programs.
If you hold the Ivy League as the only measuring stick for success, like Septimus, then you should encourage your kids toward that goal regardless of where you live. If they work hard, they could get in even with a diploma from Williamson County and maybe without having Spanish or Mandarin in kindergarten.
Ivy League is great for some. Others know you can also have a happy life even if you get an education in the Southeast.

I think it is only right to let people know. We were told how wonderful the Williamson Schools were. We were told they were "world class". While they may be the "best" in Tennessee that isn't saying much. They don't hold a candle to other very affluent areas with similar demographics to Brentwood and Franklin. They don't have the resources/programs of the schools in places like the Newton and Wellesley Public Schools in Mass, the schools in Fairfield County, CT, Long Island, Shaker Heights, OH, etc.

Hume Fogg and MLK are probably just as good as some of the most famous magnet schools like Stuyvesant in NYC

[EMERALD MOM]

Dear vivalafrance, thanks for your help. I will keep you in mind for future questions. By the way, what is the french connection. Some irish people are a bit upset about not making it to the world cup. Something about cheating. Lol!!