Education in Tennessee
Education in Tennessee covers public and private schools and related organizations from the 18th century to the present.
State government operations are administered by the Tennessee Department of Education.[1] The state Board of Education has 11 members: one from each Congressional district, a student member, and the executive director of the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC), who serves as ex-officio nonvoting member.[2]
History[edit]
Black schools[edit]
Protestant activists created the Western Freedmen's Aid Commission in Cincinnati in January 1863. Its goal was to set up schools for freed slaves in Union-controlled districts in the western states. It was most active in Tennessee, where, in 1865, its 123 white teachers provided manual and domestic training as well as academic instruction. There were 1949 students in Memphis and over 300 in Clarksville. Starting in 1865 the government's Freemen's Bureau provided the school buildings and the Commission provided the teachers, typically young women from the New England diaspora.[3]</ref>[4]
Public and private schools[edit]
Public primary and secondary education systems are operated by county, city, or special school districts to provide education at the local level, and operate under the direction of the Tennessee Department of Education.[1] The state also has many private schools.[5]
The state enrolls approximately 1 million K–12 students in 137 districts.[6] In 2021, the four-year high school graduation rate was 88.7%, a decrease of 1.2% from the previous year.[7] According to the most recent data, Tennessee spends $9,544 per student, the 8th lowest in the nation.[8]