Central High School

The teachers in this school go the extra mile and then some for their students. The administration however will do whatever it takes to squash the hopes, dreams, and joy of those teachers. Many teachers dread coming to work everyday solely because of the way administration runs the place. They are not allowed to do what is best for children because of the egos in the office. They are limited to reading scripts and doing things all the same way. The teachers are great, but are being held back from their full potential.

Great overall school that often gets overlooked. The faculty and parents are extremely involved. As a family not originally from Knoxville, we were extremely lucky to find this school.

Unfortunately, we are zoned for this school. Run far from this school if you can. My children were coming from with bruises on them from other kids bullying them at school (physically and verbally). I followed allnproper routes and nothing was done. The teachers claimed it's not bullying because it was happening to other kids too and that there was nothing they could do about it. Teachers are not supported by the admin to be able to make a difference. I ejded up having to file a report with the district to have anything done. My children went from loving school to being severely depressed and now they hate going to school. They don't feel safe at school and I have since pulled them out and resorted to home schooling.

My daughter attended NWMS for 5 years, and in that time, we saw her go from being an enthusiastic and curious learner to hating anything academic, especially school. She didn't learn to read, and, in fact, the school encouraged us to get her tested for learning disabilities and ADHD (this is very common - they suggest most kids get tested and/or seek counseling because it is ALWAYS the kid's problem, and not the school's problem - according to them, of course). We had to get tutoring outside of school because the school is not equipped to offer any help or additional assistance. I will also add that they teach from a whole language approach instead of teaching phonics, and as a result, most students there suffer from "dyslexia" and have reading struggles for years. And if that isn't enough to deter you, the teachers and staff say that they use positive discipline, but children as young as 3 are put in time out in the hall (alone), yelled at by adults, and/or sent to the admin's office, and children are sent home and kicked out routinely. Bullying is a huge problem, with students not being encouraged to share or include others, and the teachers favor some kids over others. They wanted to send my daughter home for acting out some after we had a new baby - she was attempting to get attention from friends by talking during work time, nothing crazy! She has been attending another Montessori school in the area and learned to read, fluently and at grade level, in one year due to proper instruction. Her new school said it was obvious she had school trauma from attending NWMS, and that they frequently see that with kids who switch from NWMS. Heed my advice and make a better choice for your child.

I’am very happy to have my children in this school