FHS ranks eighth
A new study by WalletHub, a personal finance company, recently ranked public schools from state to state.
In that study, Farragut High School ranked eighth, being in the top 25 schools in Tennessee, according to WKRN News.
“First, we’re honored,” FHS principal Dr. John Bartlett said. “But this is the work of the kids and the teachers and how hard they work every day.
“We’ve got a great community, and that’s just a result of (their hard work),” he added.
In looking at the study’s results, Bartlett observed, “Five of the top eight are magnet schools, so when you’re talking about comprehensive high schools (not magnet schools), we are the third.”
Ranking ahead of FHS was Hume-Fogg High School (No. 1), Central Magnet School (No. 2), Ravenwood High School (No. 3), Martin Luther King Jr. Magnet High School (No. 4), Brentwood High School (No.5), L&N STEM Academy (No. 6) and Madison Academic Magnet High School (No. 7).
“The other comprehensive schools are Ravenwood and Brentwood then Farragut,” Bartlett added. “So, we’re really blessed for our community, obviously; but we’ve got great teachers and great kids, and they’re working really hard every day, so we’re proud of them.”
“According to WalletHub, most families can’t afford to place their children in private or preparatory schools, which leaves public education as the only option,” the news report stated. “However, when it comes to the quality of
public school systems, the study found that funding can affect performance.
“Getting enough funding is essential for a productive school system, but simply having more money doesn’t guarantee success,” WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo said. “How funds are applied also plays a big role in how good a school system is, as does the quality of educators, other professionals and the curriculum.”
“To determine the top-performing school systems, analysts compared public education school systems from state to state across the 32 metrics, which included: funding, safety, class size and instructor credentials,” the news report stated.
Tennessee came in at No. 26 on WalletHub’s list. “According to the study, public school systems in Tennessee placed in the top 20 when it came to quality, ranking at 14,” the report stated. “In addition, analysts found the state has one of the lowest dropout rates.”
Tennessee Department of Education recently released TCAP results, which indicated Tennessee students showed signs of academic progress.
“In fact, the results revealed that improvements were seen across all subjects for grades three through eight,” the news report stated. “However, the state did not fare well in the safety metric, ranking near the bottom at No. 45.
“To measure the safety score, researchers said they looked at bullying rates, youth incarceration rates, share of armed students, share of high school students participating in violence and the number of school shootings, among other factors,” the report added.
