Deerfield Elementary School

Deerfield Elementary School is a pre-K through 5th-grade campus in rural Manchester, Tennessee, serving 290 students as part of Coffee County Schools. The school currently holds a 2-star rating from the state, ranking in the bottom third of Tennessee elementary schools at the 30th percentile statewide. That position is consistent with recent years — Deerfield has hovered between the 22nd and 37th percentile for the past decade, after a particularly difficult 2014–15 school year when it sat at the 9th percentile.

The school's most striking challenge is chronic absenteeism. In 2024–25, 24.5% of Deerfield students were chronically absent, more than double the Coffee County Schools average of 10.6% and well above the state rate of 18.3%. Nearby schools report far lower rates, from 6.8% at East Coffee Elementary School to 12.7% at Cannon South Elementary School. Academically, Deerfield trails its district and the state in math, English language arts, and science. Science is the biggest gap, with only 33.1% of students proficient compared to 45.2% across the district. Yet there are bright spots: 5th-grade science reached 51.7% proficiency in 2025–26, outperforming both district and state averages.

Deerfield spends generously — about $15,321 per student — and maintains a low student–teacher ratio near 11:1, yet outcomes lag behind schools that spend less. Among its own district peers, Deerfield ranks last: New Union Elementary School sits at the 59th percentile, North Coffee Elementary School at the 45th, and East Coffee Elementary School at the 42nd. Achievement also varies widely within the school: female students perform near the state median, while male students rank near the bottom quintile. For parents, the clearest takeaway is that attendance and early-grade support are likely the most meaningful areas of focus, since Deerfield's 3rd-grade math and science proficiency lag far behind its own 4th- and 5th-grade classes.