Rutherford Choice

A COMMITMENT TO CHOICE

School choice means giving families access to a variety of K-12 education options for their students.

Rutherford County Schools is committed to ensuring we are responsive to our families’ needs, that our families are engaged as partners, and that students have access to a variety of options. Our school choices include high-quality community schools, specialized academic programs and academic magnet schools, a virtual school program, an MTSU laboratory school, and personalized learning environments.

We encourage you to learn more about our academic offerings, enrichment opportunities, and exceptional choices through this School Selection Guide. Please use this resource to explore all that Rutherford County Schools has to offer.

For more information about school choice in Rutherford County email [email protected] or follow on Twitter @RCSchoice.

LEARN MORE ABOUT SCHOOL PROGRAMS USING SCHOOL FINDER

Rutherford County Schools now offers RCS school Finder to provide families with important information about each RCS school and allows for the capability to search for schools by specific programs and offerings.

RCS School Finder: https://rcschools.finder.schoolmint.com

2025-2026 CHOICE SCHOOL OPEN SEATS - APPLICATION AND LOTTERY PROCESS

FIRST ROUND - Application deadline was Dec. 31, 2025

Rutherford County Schools previously offered a lottery process for at least 10 choice seats (zone exemptions) at all zoned schools. Applications for the lottery were accepted Dec. 1, 2024-Jan. 31, 2025. The lottery for those seats has already been completed, and parents have been notified if their children earned a slot or were placed on a waiting list.

SECOND ROUND - Applications deadline is April 4, 2025

For any remaining seats (see list of schools and open seats below), Rutherford County Schools will accept applications from March 3-April 4, 2025. Then, a random lottery will be used to determine who is selected for the open seats.

REMAINING OPEN SEATS:

Christiana Elementary	1
Kittrell Elementary	7
LaVergne Lake Elementary	4
Roy Waldron Elementary	8
Wilson Elementary	1
Christiana Middle	7
LaVergne Middle	10
Whitworth-Buchanan Middle	4

Submit an application online: rcschools.schoolmint.com

Current RCS students: To find the correct student ID # to use for the application, parents should log into their parent Skyward account, go to the student info tab, and look for "other ID." This is the correct number to use for your student ID number on the application. If you still have trouble, please contact Choice Schools Coordinator Jeff McCann at [email protected].

2025-2026 HIGH SCHOOL DUAL ZONE APPLICATIONS - DEADLINE JAN. 31, 2025

For parents of high school students who have been rezoned from Rockvale High, Riverdale High, Smyrna High or Blackman High only, the School Board has approved a dual zone for your student. The deadline to submit at application was Jan. 31. 2025.

*NOTE: You do not need to complete an application if your child was grandfathered, but you need to notify your current school if you are taking the GRANDFATHER option.

CHOICE SCHOOL APPLICATIONS FOR MAGNET SCHOOLS AND OTHER NON-ZONED SCHOOLS

Rutherford County Schools accepted applications for magnet schools and other non-zoned schools through Jan. 31, 2025.

Those applications were for parents wishing to apply for a seat at Central Magnet School, Holloway High School, Homer Pittard Campus School, McFadden School of Excellence, the Rutherford County Virtual School, and Thurman Francis Arts Academy. Parents have been notified if their children earned a slot or were placed on a waiting list.