Welcome Students, Parents, Staff, Community and Prospective Patrons to Oak Ridge City Schools.
We believe you will find this site informative and hope that it will help you acquire a snapshot of the quality of the Oak Ridge school district. The story of Oak Ridge City Schools began in July, 1943, not in Oak Ridge, but in New York City when the United States Army interviewed Mr. A. H. Blankenship at Columbia College to be the first leader of Oak Ridge Schools.
The interview opened with a request that everything be regarded as confidential military information. The Army captain described a new city in the making: a city of such importance that the rest of the world must know nothing of its existence until top military authorities were ready to reveal it. Highly skilled craftsmen, scientists, and engineers were to be enlisted for the work to be done. Such people would not come unless assured that a sound educational system would be provided for their children.
Mr. A.H. Blankenship accepted the challenge to come to Oak Ridge as the Superintendent where there were no schools, no teachers or staff hired, no equipment or supplies. He was to open the schools by the first of October, all in less than ninety days. Thus, Oak Ridge schools opened their doors on Monday, October 4, 1943, with an enrollment of 87 in the high school, 150 at the Elm Grove School, and 400 at Robertsville School.
Today, Oak Ridge City Schools are comprised of a preschool serving 216 students (ages 3-4), four elementary schools serving 1,694 students, two middle schools serving 1,337 students, and one high school serving 1,480 students. With a support staff of 300 and a licensed staff of 427, our 727 employees work hard each day for our students. Seventy-six percent of our teachers hold a masters level degree.
Oak Ridge is a city committed to education and citizens have a tradition of supporting the education of our children. At every level our focus is on learning for all children. From our support staff, licensed staff, students, parents, board of education, business leaders, city council, and citizens, Oak Ridge truly represents a collective effort of all segments working together to provide the best educational opportunities for our children.
Our students continue to achieve great success at the state and national levels in academic and co-curricula competitions. In addition, our staff has been recognized with numerous state and national awards for excellence in education.
With that said, Oak Ridge does not rest on its past accomplishments but strives for excellence and improvement each and every day with a focus on student learning. Our pledge and commitment to you, individually and collectively, is it to provide a quality educational experience for your child. We believe that working together we can accomplish great things.
