Summary:
Lebanon Special School District in Tennessee includes 7 schools—5 elementary schools serving grades PK–5 and 2 middle schools serving grades 6–8—with a total enrollment of about 4,600 students across the Lebanon area.
This is a solidly mid-to-upper-tier district, ranked 66th percentile statewide. For parents, the standout elementary school is Jones Brummett Elementary School, which leads every elementary in math, ELA, and science proficiency and holds the district’s highest state ranking. Among middle schools, Walter J. Baird Middle School is the strongest and the only school in the district that improved its state percentile ranking last year. Notably, elementary schools far outperform middle schools in math and ELA—every elementary school scores above state averages while both middle schools fall below. However, middle school Algebra I is a major success: Baird posts 92% proficiency and Winfree Bryant Middle School posts 87.5%, even as general 8th-grade math scores remain low.
Parents may notice a consistent "5th grade slump" across all elementary schools, with 4th grade being the strongest year and 5th grade the weakest in ELA and science. Chronic absenteeism is higher in middle schools (17.4%) than elementary schools (12.1%), with Baird Middle the highest at 18.6%. Spending per pupil varies widely—from Baird’s low of $10,690 to Byars Dowdy Elementary School’s high of $14,626—but shows no clear link to academic results. Most schools lost ground in state rankings last year, while social studies emerged as a hidden strength: both middle schools beat the state average, and Winfree Bryant’s 7th-grade social studies score of 60.8% is the highest single-subject proficiency in the district.
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