The top reported proficiency rate is 65% in Math. The lowest is 42% in Social studies.
Original Research by School Decision on Stewartsboro Elementary
Stewartsboro Elementary sits in the fast-growing suburban town of Smyrna, a community shaped by the massive Nissan assembly plant and a wave of residential development that has steadily pushed outward from Nashville. The school serves students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade and is part of the Rutherford County school district, which has been under significant pressure to keep pace with enrollment growth. A voter-approved bond referendum in 2022 has funded new school construction and renovations across the district, addressing the roughly steady influx of new students each year. At the same time, the district implemented a phonics-based literacy curriculum beginning in the 2021-2022 school year and completed a 1:1 technology initiative by the 2024-2025 school year, giving every student a computing device. These are concrete, system-wide changes that affect day-to-day instruction at Stewartsboro.
The school’s enrollment is on the larger side for an elementary school. The student body is diverse: white students make up about half of the population, Hispanic students account for a little over a quarter, Black students are a bit more than a tenth, and smaller shares are Asian, multiracial, Native American, or Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. Data on the share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, on students with disabilities, and on English learners were not reported, so a family wanting to understand the school’s economic and support-service profile would need to ask the school directly.
On state testing, Stewartsboro’s results are mixed in a way that gives a clear picture of relative strengths. Math proficiency is a genuine strength, landing above the midpoint for districts across Rutherford County when combined with the school’s other subjects. Reading proficiency is considerably lower, drawing attention to an area where the school as a whole is weaker. Science proficiency sits between the two, while social studies data is from several years ago and involved changes to both the test and its scoring, so it is not directly comparable to current performance. Because the school only serves grades where state testing is given, a high school graduation rate is not applicable.
The community context matters for understanding what daily life is like for families. Smyrna is a car-dependent town with suburban subdivisions, commercial strips, and industrial facilities spread across a large area. There is limited walkability, though the town maintains a network of greenway trails and a number of parks. The housing market in the area around the school reflects the broader growth pressures: home values are above the state average, and rents have edged slightly downward recently, but buying remains expensive relative to national income benchmarks. The town has grown rapidly for decades, driven by industrial employers like Nissan, Asurion, and others, and the population continues to rise. That growth brings more students into the district and puts ongoing pressure on school capacity, which the bond-funded projects aim to relieve.
For a parent weighing this school, the academic picture is one where math instruction stands out as a clear positive, while reading scores would be a reasonable point of inquiry. The larger enrollment means class sizes and building capacity are worth checking in person, especially as the district manages its growth. The school’s setting in a sprawling, car-oriented suburb means that getting to the school, to after-school activities, and to the town’s parks and amenities will almost certainly require driving. The broader district investments in literacy instruction and technology are in place, so a family can expect those initiatives to be part of the classroom experience. The missing data on economic need and special education services means a parent with a child who has an IEP or is an English learner would want to contact the school directly to understand the resources available.
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