Schools in Zip Code 37208

Zip code 37208 in Nashville is served by five Metro Nashville Public Schools spanning pre-K through 12th grade, with a combined enrollment of about 1,505 students. These schools generally rank in the bottom tenth of Tennessee, with an average percentile near 9, but they are not uniformly low-performing. Pearl-Cohn High School leads the group at the 19th percentile statewide, up dramatically from the 3rd percentile in 2023-2024, and it posted strong year-over-year gains in Biology, Integrated Math II, and English II. Hull-Jackson Elementary School stands out for having the only chronic absenteeism rate below district and state averages (15.3% vs. 23.3% and 18.3%), and its 5th grade ELA proficiency of 36% beats the district. At the other end, Jones Elementary School is the most challenged, sitting at the 4th percentile, though it improved in every subject this year.

Among the other schools, Robert Churchwell Elementary School and John Early Middle School also remain far below state averages. John Early spends the most per student ($29,546) yet has the lowest math and ELA proficiency rates in the zip code, while Pearl-Cohn spends the least ($18,830) and has the highest rank. Hull-Jackson and Jones spend nearly identical amounts, but Hull-Jackson outperforms Jones in every subject and has far better attendance. This suggests that spending alone does not explain outcomes; school-specific factors like attendance and student needs likely play a major role.

Chronic absenteeism is a widespread challenge, averaging roughly 34.8% across the five schools, with Pearl-Cohn (46.1%) and John Early (42.0%) especially concerning. Specific grade-level weaknesses are visible, including 9th grade literacy at Pearl-Cohn (English I proficiency of just 8.9% vs. 32.5% in English II) and sharp drops in 5th grade math at Jones (6.5%) and 5th grade ELA at Churchwell (7.4%). Despite these challenges, the overall momentum is encouraging: most schools improved from 2024-2025 to 2025-2026, and Pearl-Cohn's upper-level science and math scores exceeded district averages in some grades. The bottom line is that this zip code has serious academic hurdles, but Hull-Jackson proves better attendance and stronger elementary results are possible, and Pearl-Cohn shows that significant improvement can happen within a few years.