Knox County Middle Schools

Dr. Elizabeth
Ferreira-Alves, Ed.D
Director
(865) 594-1619

Knox County Middle Schools are comprised of grades 6,7 and 8. Grade levels are separated, each having their own grade level “team” locations.  Depending upon the number of teachers on the school faculty, grade level “teams” (also referred to as “pods” or “suites”) vary from two-member teams to five-member teams.  Students are randomly placed in homerooms within a team.  This teaming arrangement allows a larger school population to be broken down into smaller “schools within a school.”  A typical four-member team would have 120 students.

In a four-member teacher team one teacher teaches language arts, one teaches science, one teaches math and the fourth teacher teaches social studies.  All four of the teachers would teach one class period of reading.  Students remain in the team area for the five “core” academic subjects, changing classes at regular intervals, and would only travel outside the team area to go to the library, cafeteria or various related arts classes.

In many cases, a student may be in a five-member teacher team.  The only difference in this example is that the team is comprised of five homeroom groups and the fifth teacher, a reading specialist, teaches all of the reading classes.

Daily Schedule

An example of a typical middle school schedule is demonstrated by the following:

Homeroom -    15 minutes

Period I -         Language Arts 55 minutes

Period II -        Related Arts (P.E., Health, Art, etc.) 90 minutes

Period III -      Math 55 minutes

Period IV -      Science 55 minutes

Period V -        Social Studies 55 minutes

Period VI -      Reading 55 minutes

Middle School Currirulum

Knox County Middle Schools provide for grades six, seven, and eight with course offerings guided by the Tennessee State Department of Education’s “Blueprint for Learning” (available online at www.tennessee.gov/education).  Core academic courses required for all students are math, science, social studies, language arts and reading.  Required and elective courses also offered during related arts class periods are physical education, health, art, career and technical education, vocal music, instrumental music, guidance and computer training.

Extra-Curricular Activities

Knox County Middle Schools provide many opportunities for extra-curricular activities through clubs, interest groups, field trips, dances, band, orchestra, chorus and other fun events.  Students also have an opportunity to participate in athletics at the club and interscholastic levels.  Such sports activities include boys and girls basketball, cheerleading, volleyball, cross-country running, track and field and other intramural activities.