The top reported proficiency rate is 30% in Science. The lowest is 7% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Barry Tatum Academy
Barry Tatum Academy is an alternative school in Lebanon, Tennessee, serving students in grades six through twelve. As part of the Wilson County district, it operates with a distinct mission that sets it apart from the county’s conventional middle and high schools. The student body is small, drawing a modest number of young people who have been placed in an alternative setting, often because they have not succeeded in a traditional school environment.
The academy’s enrollment is racially and ethnically mixed. White students make up roughly half the student body, with Black and Hispanic students each accounting for about a fifth, and the remainder comprising students who identify as American Indian or with two or more races. The data does not include the share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, nor does it report the proportion of students receiving special education services or classified as English learners, so the full picture of economic and learning support need is not available in the public records reviewed. A parent considering this placement would want to ask the school directly about how it supports students with these needs, as they are often prominent in alternative settings.
On state assessments, students at Barry Tatum Academy perform well below the district average across tested subjects. In math and English language arts, the share of students scoring proficient or above is small. Science and social studies show a slightly better outcome, but still well short of the district-wide patterns. The comparison of overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades places the school in the bottom quarter relative to other schools in Wilson County. This is not surprising for an alternative school, which typically serves students who are behind academically or have experienced difficulty in a mainstream classroom. The school itself reports that every student took the assessments the year the data was collected, so the results reflect the full tested population.
There is no graduation rate reported. That may be because the school’s population is small and a single year’s cohort is not tracked in the same way, or because the alternative pathway means students may complete requirements on a different timeline. A family looking at this school will want to ask about the graduation outlook and what credits students can earn.
The school is located in Lebanon, a city that has grown rapidly as part of the Nashville metro area. It retains a historic town square and hosts major employers such as Cracker Barrel’s headquarters and a Vanderbilt Hospital campus. The city is car-dependent beyond the square, and housing values and rents are above the state median, consistent with suburban growth pressure. The Wilson County district itself shows no major recent changes publicly documented.
Barry Tatum Academy is not a typical neighborhood school. It serves a specific population of students who need a different structure to continue their education. The academic attainment numbers are low, which reflects the challenges these students bring with them rather than the school’s quality of instruction, but a parent or guardian should investigate how the school tracks individual progress and prepares students for the next step, whether that is returning to a regular school, earning a diploma, or moving into career training.
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