Schools in Zip Code 38560

Zip code 38560 contains just one school, Forks River Elementary School, a small public school serving grades PK through 8 with an enrollment of 208 students, and it is part of Smith County Schools, a district ranked 45th out of 141 districts in Tennessee with a 3-star rating. There are no middle schools, high schools, or alternative schools in the zip code, so this single PK–8 school defines the educational landscape of the area entirely on its own.

Forks River Elementary has experienced a notable decline in its statewide ranking over the past three years, falling from the 78th percentile with a 4-star rating in 2023–2024 to the 38th percentile with a 2-star rating in 2025–2026. Despite this drop, the school outperforms the Tennessee state average in every tested subject, with math proficiency at 44.9% versus 43.0% statewide, ELA at 41.7% versus 40.6%, science at 49.6% versus 46.9%, and social studies at 56.5% versus 51.4%. However, it trails its own district in math, science, and social studies. Dramatic grade-level variation exists within the building: 7th grade math proficiency is 62.1%, 8th grade math is 70.6%, and 7th grade social studies is 82.8%, while 6th grade social studies sits at just 6.3%, 6th grade science at 25.0%, and 8th grade ELA at 17.6%. These swings likely reflect small cohort sizes across the school's ten grade levels.

One clear positive is attendance: chronic absenteeism is only 8.4%, well below the district's 10.2% and less than half the state's 18.3%. The school spends $12,818 per student, though district or state comparison figures are not available. Overall, Forks River Elementary is a small rural school with strong upper-grade math results and excellent attendance, but it faces challenges with inconsistent performance across grades, particularly in 6th grade science and social studies, and a downward ranking trend that families should monitor.