12311 Hatmaker Ln
Knoxville, TN 37932

Going to be blunt and say if your child is more empathy driven, they will struggle at Farragut. The first month there my child was bitten on the playground by someone they attempted to comfort after finding them crying. I guess that should have been a sign.In what I was told, it was few and far between for the well rounded as a vast majority were out of touch, trend following, very emotionally lacking - cliques.If you weren't established, you were out. Good days were the ones my kid came back quiet, but the bad days were full of tears. My child is not one to be shy, but had a hard time making friends at this school due to bullying and cliques. If your child isn't in an established group they'll be excommunicated - jumping around to whoever decides to speak to them that day.My kid did get bullied for not having name brand items, I invested in a few hoping it would help to at least soften the bullying or help them blend, however the retort by some of these children were to claim it was a dupe or fake. Wow! (Mind you this is only third grade.) So there was no winning in this situation besides having daily pep talks to help my kid grow thicker skin and reaching out to the counselor to make sure they kept an eye on it. I attended Farragut High school and got bullied by a teacher many years back, to none of my surprise my child also experienced this same treatment at their intermediate school. IRMA HOWLEY went out of her way to write on my child's work that using a 'nickname' was unacceptable and that she would start docking my child's homework of points if they continued to write that name. To be noted the 'nickname' in question was a shortened version of my child's legal name - nothing ridiculous. This really made my kid feel even more unwelcomed in an environment that they were already struggling in with peers. I reached out to the principle and assistant principle, with no real resolution besides putting my kid in a "friend group" with the grade counselor. This teacher also threatened other kids that they would not be allowed to use the restroom when needed as they "should have gone before class"This type of behavior disgusts me, as you have a job involving children but go out of your way to go on power trips. I guess knowing you have tenure means you can show who you really are - as there are no repercussions for teachers like this, and from my own experience that's how it's been for years.

Wonderful school. They care about the children. Very high standards for the children. They focus solely on learning academia. Teachers work hard and my children love the school.

I went to Hardin Valley a few years back and it was a great experience but it has gone downhill. With the new principal and staff my siblings have faced discrimination. Recently I went to the school and encountered a rude office staff. I wasn’t aware one couldn’t bring drinks from the outside and she gave me attitude about it, when I had told her I didn’t know. She proceeded to say “she wasn’t going to allow it” and looked down on me for not knowing. Before office staff were so nice and kind, now everything is changing.

I went to this middle school for 3 years and most of the teachers were really good. The best teachers were Ms. Lady and Mr. Dirmeyer. If you disliked this school you probably had a bad teacher and there are like only a few so, yeah, good.(His mom agrees that HVMS was a great school for him.) :)