Rick Smith, superintendent for Hamilton County Schools, discusses education in his office.NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND TRANSFERS (2011-12)Elementary SchoolsClifton Hills Elementary: 7 to Alpine Crest Elementary, 2 to Falling Water ElementaryCalvin Donaldson Elementary: 10 to Lookout Mountain Elementary, 6 to Lookout Valley ElementaryEastside Elementary: 15 to Soddy Elementary, 13 to Allen ElementaryHillcrest Elementary: 13 to Snowhill ElementaryOrchard Knob Elementary: 2 to Allen Elementary, 2 to Daisy ElementaryRivermont Elementary: 1 to Falling Water Elementary, 1 to Soddy ElementaryWoodmore Elementary: 40 to Ooltewah Elementary, 7 to Snowhill ElementaryMiddle SchoolsDalewood Middle: 22 to Loftis Middle, 3 to Soddy-Daisy MiddleEast Lake Academy: 8 to Brown Middle, 13 to East Hamilton Middle/HighEast Ridge Middle: 7 to Ooltewah Middle, 14 to Signal Mountain Middle/HighLookout Valley Middle: 1 to East Hamilton Middle/HighOrchard Knob Middle: 57 to Hunter Middle, 21 to Ooltewah MiddleTyner Middle Academy: 4 to Hixson Middle, 1 to Red Bank MiddleHigh SchoolsBrainerd High: 118 to Ooltewah High, 12 to Sale Creek HighHoward School of Academics and Technology: 12 to Sale Creek High, 47 to Signal Mountain Middle/HighRed Bank High: 10 to Hixson High, 4 to Sale Creek HighSoddy-Daisy High: 1 to Hixson HighSource: Hamilton County Department of EducationFAST FACTAcross the state, 57,254 students were eligible for school transfers in 2008-09, though only 2,465 — about 4 percent — actually transferred. In the same year, 154,615 of the nation’s 672,101 students, or about 23 percent, elected to transfer.
Schools Superintendent Rick Smith wants to eliminate transfers that for a decade have allowed students to leave struggling schools for a chance at a better education elsewhere.
The change is made possible by a waiver granted to the state from the requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind law.
Smith said the action could take effect as early as next year if approved by the Hamilton County Board of Education, though he emphasized that the transfers would not end abruptly.
Locally, some saw the school choice provision as a safeguard for educational equality and opportunity by giving students in the inner city a chance to attend what they perceived as better suburban schools.