Tennessee Nature Academy

Tennessee Nature Academy is a small public charter middle school in south Nashville serving 195 students in grades 5–8, overseen by the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission. Despite its authorizing district ranking in the bottom 10% of Tennessee districts, the school itself ranks in the 32nd percentile of all Tennessee middle schools—meaning it performs much better than its district's overall standing and better than most zoned Metro Nashville Public Schools options nearby.

Academically, Tennessee Nature Academy outperforms every nearby traditional Metro Nashville middle school in math, ELA, and science. In 2025–26, the school posted 29.2% proficiency in math, 31.4% in ELA, and 41.2% in science—beating Apollo Middle School, Croft Middle School, Thurgood Marshall Middle School, Antioch Middle School, McMurray Middle School, and William Henry Oliver Middle School in all three subjects, sometimes by significant margins. Science is the school's clearest strength, with 5th and 6th grade science proficiency exceeding state averages. However, Woodland Middle School and Sunset Middle School in Williamson County Schools—just 3–5 miles away—post dramatically higher scores, with math proficiency above 80%.

The school also stands out for attendance: its chronic absenteeism rate of 15.5% is better than the state rate of 18.3% and far better than its charter district's 25.2%. Yet there are concerns. Proficiency declines sharply as students advance, with ELA falling from 46.6% in 5th grade to 20.0% in 8th grade, and science dropping from 54.4% to 24.4%. On a positive note, the school has made strong gains over three years in math (19.3% to 29.2%) and social studies (21.2% to 42.0%), though ELA has remained flat. Additionally, the school reports no Integrated Math I scores for 8th graders, suggesting it may not offer the high school–credit math pathway available at nearby schools like Thurgood Marshall Middle School.