It is that time of year when high school seniors start celebrating. Graduation!
For students going to high school in Williamson County, that future is brighter than most everywhere else.
Recently, we reported that Williamson County students score some of the highest ACT scores in the state. That is not the only marker of success local students are enjoying.
Williamson County has among the highest graduation rates in the state and country. Of the nearly 32,000 students in Williamson County Schools and the nearly 4,000 that go to Franklin Special School District, 96% of them will graduate from high school.
Compare that to the national graduation rate average, which is about 82%. Or even the statewide rate, which is 88%, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
Students of schools in Williamson County are more prepared for college or post-secondary education than almost all of the schools in the rest of the state and most of the rest of the country, reports USNews ranking.
In Tennessee, five of the top 25 high schools, according to the rankings, are in Williamson County.
They are Brentwood High School (No. 5 in Tn, No. 241 in US), Ravenwood High School (No. 7 in TN, No. 682 in US), Franklin High School (No. 8 in TN, No. 1036 in US), Centennial High School (No. 12 in TN, No. 1237 in US), Independence High School (No. 12 in TN, No. 1591 in US), Page High School (No. 21 in TN, No. 1969 in US).
Meanwhile Christ Presbyterian Academy and Brentwood Academy ranked as the 15th and 19th best private schools in the state, from a pool of 589.
Nationally there are 26,407 public high schools and 10,693 private high schools.
A Culture of Education
It is no surprise that the students in Williamson County do so well, given the demographics of its population. Some 95% of the people who live in Williamson County have at least a high school diploma, in contrast to 85% statewide, according to Williamson Chamber of Commerce. And 54% have a Bachelor’s Degree or higher, compared to 29% in the rest of Tennessee.
In the region, there is a large commitment to post-secondary education, with 22 universities, 26 career colleges and 4 community colleges within easy driving distance.
Evidence of this can be seen in the new Williamson County campus that Columbia State Community College is opening in June. The existing campus could not accommodate the demand for enrollment, so the school built a bigger one, along Liberty Pike.
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