Summary:
Kingsport City Schools is a mid-sized Tennessee district serving roughly 7,506 students across 11 schools — one high school, two middle schools, and eight elementary schools — ranking 21st out of 141 state districts, though that overall strength masks wide variation between schools. John Adams Elementary School is the district's clear standout, ranking 62nd of 1,019 elementary schools with the highest math (76.7%), ELA (74.6%), and science (69.4%) proficiency rates, plus the lowest chronic absenteeism in the district at just 6.5%. At the other extreme, Andrew Jackson Elementary School ranks 819th with only about 29% proficiency in core subjects and a 32.2% chronic absenteeism rate, and its rank has fallen for three straight years.
Among secondary schools, Ross N. Robinson Middle School is the stronger middle school, ranking 60th of 594 and outperforming John Sevier Middle School in every core subject while posting a healthier 19.8% absenteeism rate versus Sevier's district-worst 34.4%. John Sevier deserves credit for dramatic improvement, climbing from 258th to 144th over three years, and for exceptional accelerated math scores (92.9% Algebra I, 93.8% Geometry). Dobyns-Bennett High School graduates students well, with a 94.4% graduation rate and 2.4% dropout rate — both far better than state averages — and it exceeds state proficiency in every EOC subject; however, its 30.1% chronic absenteeism rate and slip from 40th to 63rd in state ranking are worth watching.
District-wide, chronic absenteeism averaging 24.3% exceeds the state's 18.3%, and the pattern is telling: the highest-performing schools — John Adams, Thomas Jefferson Elementary School, and Andrew Johnson Elementary School — have the lowest absenteeism. Spending does not predict outcomes: John Adams spends the least per student ($13,255) while Theodore Roosevelt Elementary School spends the most ($18,053) but ranks in the lower half. Encouragingly, John Adams, John Sevier, Theodore Roosevelt, and John F. Kennedy Elementary School are all on clear upward trajectories, suggesting the district's bright spots can spread with continued focus on attendance and supports.
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