Summary:
Zip code 37882 (Townsend, Tennessee) is served by a single public elementary school, Townsend Elementary School, which enrolls 108 students in grades K-5 and is part of Blount County Schools. There are no middle or high schools in this zip code, so families must leave the immediate area for secondary education.
Townsend Elementary is the only school in the area, and its performance is concerning. The school currently holds a 1-star state rating and ranks in the bottom 11% of Tennessee elementary schools, falling from the 24th percentile to the 11th percentile in the most recent year. Proficiency rates are far below district and state averages in every subject: math proficiency is 25.0% (vs. 39.5% district and 43.0% state), English Language Arts is 19.2% (vs. 38.9% and 40.6%), and science is 19.2% (vs. 47.3% and 46.9%). The most alarming result is 5th grade ELA proficiency at just 6.7%, meaning nearly every 5th grader is not meeting reading and writing standards as they prepare to enter middle school. Meanwhile, 4th grade is the strongest cohort, with 36.4% math, 31.8% ELA, and 27.3% science proficiency, showing that better outcomes are possible within the same building.
Chronic absenteeism is 18.4%, slightly above the district's 17.6% and about equal to the state's 18.3%. Per-student spending is $16,891, which is relatively high for a small elementary school, yet academic results remain weak. Because the school has just 108 students, individual grade cohorts are very small, so a handful of struggling students can dramatically swing proficiency percentages from year to year. That likely explains the sharp drops and the volatile state ranking over the past three years. Still, the overall picture is clear: families considering this school should be aware that while Townsend Elementary has a bright spot in 4th grade, the school as a whole is significantly below both its district and the state in all core subjects, and the 5th grade ELA results are a serious red flag.
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