Summary

We found Cookeville TN to have quite a remarkable array of affordable schooling options. There are various home-schooling support services, a number of private schools, Montessori inspired Pre-Ks and maker-spaces, well rated public schools, and more. We believe this will provide the flexibility for us to find what is best for our children and are excited to make the move.

Intro

In our first blog post we identified Cookeville as the area that seemed to be the most convenient for raising a family in the Upper Cumberland.

Woodbury / Murfreesboro

On our second exploration of the area we chose to include a stay in the town of Woodbury. It is in the south-western most part of the Upper Cumberland. It is a charming, small town with very nice locals. In terms of schooling options it has very poor public schools and limited alternatives.

Murfreesboro is 20-25 minutes drive from Woodbury. Murfreesboro caught our eye because it has two Montessori schools. Our son currently goes to a fantastic Montessori school 20 minutes from where we live in Richmond, so we wanted to see what this could be like for us.

The prices for both schools seem comparable at around $1000/mo. Compared to the $1500 we are currently spending in Richmond, this seems like a good deal but by the Upper Cumberland standards does seem to be on the upper range of cost.

Overall, we were sufficiently impressed with the education opportunities in Murfreesboro. We liked the two schools we saw and were surprisingly impressed by Murfreesboro’s farmer market in an extremely charming part of town.

The main problem for us was that the rest of Murfreesboro resembled the suburban sprawl we are trying to avoid, and the prospect of driving 20+ minutes for most of our needs was not appealing.

As we weren’t blown away by either the schools or the area, we were hopeful we’d find good schooling options while staying in Cookeville.

Cookeville / Sparta

Cookeville is a city with around 130,000 people in its micropolitan area. To be honest, after our first trip being blown away by the natural beauty of the Upper Cumberland, Cookeville seemed like a practical but not exciting option. After this trip, my perspective has changed and I find it to be a beautiful place.

One remarkable thing we noticed in all these tours was how engaged the directors of these schools were. They gave us great advice and spent a lot of time with us, many times during their holiday break. It was impressive the level of commitment on display.

Algood Christian Elementary

The first school we visited was the Algood Christian Elementary just outside Cookeville. This school is run by Adventists, which is a Christian sect I knew nothing about before this tour. To crudely sum it up, it is like a Baptist Church and a Jewish Synagogue had a baby. In general, I am uneasy with the evangelicals but I found the school to be extremely welcoming. The director also stressed that not only Adventists go to the school and that for the younger kids the biblical study focus is on the old testament only. We’d fit in fine as Orthodox Christians it seems.

The director of the school showed us around their facility which was charming and the curriculum seemed mostly standard and appropriate. What made this school so interesting was that the students spend a significant portion of their day outside in the woods. This style of schooling is like a hybrid “forest school.” Again, something I wasn’t familiar with before this trip, but a “forest school” is an educational approach that takes place primarily outdoors, using nature as a classroom. It emphasizes hands-on, play-based learning where children explore and engage with the natural environment. It seems great, especially in this digital era.

This school started at age 5, so we have another year to evaluate if we put our son in it. They charge only ~$5000 per year as they are subsidized by their church.

Exodus Christian Academy

That same day we also visited with the administrators of the Exodus Christian Academy which is classified as an Umbrella School. An Umbrella School is an alternative educational institution that oversees and supports homeschooling families by providing administrative services, record-keeping, and sometimes curriculum guidance, allowing parents to fulfill legal schooling requirements.

The whole purpose of their organization is to make it is easy and take the fear out of homeschooling your kids. Anyone on the fence about this schooling option would be happy to know such a resource is out there. During our over one hour talk with the administrators they shared a number of valuable insights including where the healthiest food can be found, doctor recommendations, and local homeschooling groups.

The program only costs $80 for one student and $25 for the next two kids.

Sylvan Learning 

The last stop of the day was Sylvan Learning. This is a tutoring chain that we stopped in to see what services they offer. It was for older children then ours, so we didn’t get too into it but it seems like a viable option for those that want an affordable tutoring option for the subjects there kids need help with. Not overly impressive, but glad the option is there.

Highland Rim Academy

We started day two of our Cookeville research with the Highland Rim Academy. This was a buttoned up, very formal private school. You can tell they took academics very seriously. You got the impression that their students were being very well equipped to succeed.

They follow what they call a “classical Christian school” model. A classical Christian school is an educational institution that combines a traditional liberal arts curriculum with Christian teachings, emphasizing the classical trivium of grammar, logic, and rhetoric to cultivate wisdom and virtue in students. The program was academically impressive.

This school was the most evangelical in its Christian focus. They have a statement of faith and fairly sophisticated application process to confirm their students and families conform to their faith. On the way out we received a large packet with material that speaks to their standards and beliefs. It is certainly a viable option, I’d need to look more closely to see if there’d be any issues that would arise by their requirements but on first glance it seems similar to Armenian orthodox values.

They charge between $7,000-8,500 per year depending on student’s age.

Heavenly Host Lutheran Early Childhood Center

The Early Childhood Center was the first prekindergarten program we visited. It was recommended by several of the administrators we had met with thus far.

It seemed like a fairly standard pre-k. They had a nice large playground and the facilities seemed appropriate. They charge $667/mo. I think for what it is, it was a good value. There was nothing remarkable about it in a negative or positive way. The administrators seemed very nice, normal, and caring.

Peachtree Learning Center

Peachtree Learning Center is an educational non-profit organization providing visual and performing arts instruction, along with academic enrichment, to families and children in Cookeville and Sparta. We visited their larger location in Cookeville and saw an orchestra ensemble of students warming up.

Their programs are a range of artistic disciplines, including music, art, dance, and drama, as well as academic subjects such as literature, history, and science. In addition to group classes, Peachtree Learning Center offers private lessons in instruments like guitar, drums, bass, ukulele, voice, violin, mandolin, and piano. They also host summer camps and workshops that provide intensive instruction and enrichment opportunities in both the arts and academics.

We learned this is a very popular location for homeschoolers to enroll their children into various art classes. From what we could tell, it is a sort of nexus for various homeschooling families and organizations and in fact the umbrella school we mentioned before, Exodus, was located in their facility. It seems like a great place that will generate a lot of social and learning opportunities for us and our children. We were very impressed and our kids will almost certainly enroll in programs here.

Imagine Foundry

Imagine Foundry so thoroughly subverted my expectations. I found their website somewhat confusing but very intriguing. It is presented as a sort of child worker-space, which sounds really cool.

We arrived to a rather nondescript industrial looking building with a small penned in play area with astroturf. Compared to the large forested play areas we had seen in other places, I was not super impressed.

We met with Dr. Jessa the program director and she began to walk us through the facility. The way her program works is that it is heavily Montessori inspired and children break out into groups of around 6 and play in various themed rooms designed to introduce practical life skills.

I swear, this woman is the closest thing to Ms. Frizzle from the Magic School Bus. She kept opening up new doors with new themes. After 5 doors, I was impressed. After 10 doors, 15 doors later, I really couldn’t believe what she had put together. It is incredible.

The kids in her program learn woodworking, robotics, coding, beauty salon skills, laser word burning, sewing, crafts, cooking, print, painting, gardening, animal care, and so much more. It was awesome!

Also, of all the places we visited she was the most on top of healthy diet and had the healthiest kitchen.

Our son is for sure going to be enrolling here. They charge $45/day and offer a 10-15% discount if you are a regular in classes. Amazing value.

Creative Learning Center

This was another pretty standard prekindergarten. The rates were comparable to the others perhaps slightly higher. It had a very nice play area outside and seems fine really. Very much what one would expect from a pre-k. They seemed to serve unhealthy food and all the women who worked there seemed rather unhealthy.

SoulSong

SoulSong is a Montessori-inspired program for pre-k aged children. The director along with one of the teachers met with my wife on a Friday night at 7pm during a vacation week. Unbelievable.

Apparently they had a great conversation that lasted over an hour. It felt like a very friendly environment. They do a two day a week program where you can choose Monday and Wednesday or Tuesday and Thursday. They boast having diverse families participating in their program. Some of the administrators seemed borderline woke but unclear if it is a facade or full-blown.

Overall my wife was impressed with what she heard and after we move, we will all meet with them together and most likely enroll our son here as well. They charge $30/day.

Interested to learn more about living in the Upper Cumberland in a rural Armenian-American Community?