Summary:
Puryear, Tennessee, is served by a single school, Dorothy And Noble Harrelson School, a PK–8 elementary school within Henry County Schools that enrolls 425 students. Because the city has no separate middle or high schools, this one campus serves as the sole educational institution for the entire community, covering everything from pre-kindergarten through 8th grade.
Dorothy And Noble Harrelson School stands out as a strong academic performer. Henry County Schools ranks 34th out of 141 Tennessee districts, earning a 4-star rating, and the school itself ranks 341st out of 1,019 Tennessee schools, placing it in the 67th percentile. In every core subject, the school exceeds state averages: Mathematics (53.6% vs. 43.0% statewide), English Language Arts (50.0% vs. 40.6%), Science (52.1% vs. 46.9%), and Social Studies (62.8% vs. 51.4%). Social Studies is the school's most impressive subject, leading the district as well as the state. The school also keeps chronic absenteeism at 15.5%, lower than both the district (16.6%) and state (18.3%), and invests $15,466 per student.
Within the school, performance varies by grade and subject. Math is strongest in 4th grade, where 70.2% of students are proficient, but weaker in 3rd grade (41.3%) and 6th grade (42.5%). ELA proficiency steadily declines from 63.0% in 3rd grade to 41.7% in 8th grade, suggesting middle school literacy is an area to watch. Science shows a sharp dip in 5th and 6th grades (33.3% and 32.5%) before rebounding to 70.8% in 8th grade. The biggest year-over-year gain came in Social Studies, which jumped 12.8 points to 62.8%, with particularly strong 7th-grade (75.6%) and 8th-grade (72.9%) results. Families should know that the school has held a 3-star rating for three consecutive years and consistently outperforms the state, while targeted support in upper-grade ELA and middle-school science could help close internal gaps.
Thank you for your feedback!