Bearden

My granddaughter graduated in Spring 2025. Her experience was extremely positive. Teachers were all very involved and related well to the children. The students have a strong bond with each other that has loosely continued as many went on to various middle schools. The final school programs at year end every year were very inclusive and patriotic.

This school always came with problems instead of providing solutions. My child was diagnosed with a disorder and they failed to accommodate her. They resorted to bullying her and picking with my child. I was Harassed with constant DCS calls from this school multiple times and overall her academics were poor at this school. My child is now at a different school and a major change in academics and emotional support has allowed her to to thrive. I would not recommend this school.

We enrolled our daughter at Knoxville Montessori when we saw that she was not establishing the self-direction that we had learned in 4th-5th grade back when we were in public school. It just didn’t seem to be getting taught in public elementary school anymore, at least not to the level that our daughter needed. We enrolled our daughter at KMS specifically seeking the self-direction that Montessori schools are so well-known for. Within the first month, we saw her thrive and, over time, her confidence soared back to how it had been before her experience in public elementary school's early years. Her self-image was restored, and she was praised for the strong moral, compassionate character that she possesses. We love that this was so strongly encouraged at KMS. Her curiosity for nature and science was nourished with encouragement to do her own, independent reports that she regularly and completely dove into. Her final report in fifth grade was a 26-page, typed report on the topic that she selected, "Nature in Tennessee." The requirement was 10 pages! She was so proud to exercise leadership skills in various projects and assignments the students go through to teach real world experiences. She always relished "Forest Fridays" where the kids go a monthly hike and said one of her favorite memories at KMS was doing a sunrise hike with her teacher at a two-day camp they had at a local state park. One of her last notable learning experiences was being able to recite every bone in the body, which she was so proud to be one of the first in her class to learn within about a few weeks.Something unexpected yet noteworthy is that we saw her getting sick much less often than she did in public elementary school.She's now in middle school in Knox County Schools and we already see the difference KMS has made! Her leadership skills are honed and the visual and tangible lessons KMS gave such as the visual block models that explain complex math formulas have set her up for the tools she needed to thrive. She comes home everyday, cracks open her school computer, and manages her homework assignments herself without our prompting. This never would have happened had she not gone to KMS! The school provided exactly what we were looking for. More importantly, she gained tools that were exactly what our daughter needed to thrive not only in school, but that she will carry into her adult life!We will be forever grateful!

Look carefully at the turnover of the admin team. Then move your focus to the teaching staff. There is significant turnover because the working environment is atrocious. The pay for teachers is some of the worst in the area, and the support staff are salaried but their hourly wages are less than minimum wage when duties and after hour obligations are factored in. The priest who is in charge of the diocese is a controlling man who lacks moral character and was close personal friends with the previous bishop, who was asked to step down by the Pope and recently passed away. The most Catholic thing you can do when considering this school is to strengthen your faith life at home and send them to a public school. The rigor is missing here as the diocese has had teachers with no credentials or backgrounds in education teaching. A former admin had her unqualified husband teaching a class on the FBI. There are much better public schools in the area.

An absolute blessing! Our son has done so well at West End!