Sumner County Schools

Sumner County Schools serves approximately 30,300 students across 52 schools in Tennessee — 27 elementary schools, 12 middle schools, 11 high schools, and 2 alternative schools — and ranks 33rd out of 141 Tennessee districts with a 4-star rating, outperforming state averages in nearly every tested subject while posting a 93.4% graduation rate and a 12.2% chronic absenteeism rate, both better than state averages.

Standout schools are concentrated in distinct feeder clusters. Indian Lake Elementary (98th percentile), T.W. Hunter Middle (99th), and Hendersonville High (91st) anchor a consistently strong Hendersonville pathway. The Liberty Creek cluster — Liberty Creek Elementary, Liberty Creek Middle, and Liberty Creek High — ranks in the 96th percentile or higher at every level, while Station Camp High earns the district's best high school rank at the 98th percentile. Merrol Hyde Magnet School is an exceptional outlier with proficiency rates above 90% in most subjects, though it operates as a selective countywide magnet rather than a typical neighborhood school.

The most concerning trends are concentrated in the Gallatin and Portland areas. Gallatin Senior High has the district's highest chronic absenteeism at 25.3% and lowest Algebra I proficiency at 20.9%, despite graduating 92.5% of students. J.W. Wiseman Elementary has declined from the 58th percentile to the 21st percentile in just three years. Chronic absenteeism is the clearest warning sign — every low-performing school has elevated absenteeism, while top schools like Dr. William Burrus Elementary and Union Elementary stay below 5.5%. Notably, higher per-student spending does not predict performance — Liberty Creek Elementary spends just $10,526 per student while ranking in the 97th percentile, while J.W. Wiseman Elementary spends $18,138 and ranks in the 21st.