L&N STEM Academy has a list of achievements that's long and ever-growing. Gov. Bill Lee visited Aug. 29 to note the incredible work being done at the specialized Knox County high school.
Lee toured the school and talked to students engaged in cutting-edge nuclear energy programs, robotics and computer science. He was even given a 3D-printed souvenir to keep. Lee called it a "model school."
"Students don't learn the same," Lee said. "Every student is different, every classroom should be different, schools should be different and we just have to find innovative ways to give parents the option to choose what classrooms work for their student."
He reiterated his stance on giving families options with kids' learning styles at the forefront. Lee has pushed the Tennessee Legislature to approve his universal voucher plan, which would give families a set amount of tax dollars as credit to use toward private school tuition.
The plan failed in the 2024 legislative session.
Several Republican elected officials joined him: Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, state Sen. Becky Duncan Massey, state Rep. Elaine Davis, state Rep. Dave Wright and Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs. KCS Superintendent Jon Rysewyk joined the,
What makes L&N STEM Academy special?
The specialized high school in the heart of downtown Knoxville has been named among the 10 best high schools in Tennessee. It was ranked No. 670 nationally by U.S. News & World Report .
It is a three-time winner of the Apple Distinguished Schools award for those that are "centers of leadership and educational excellence," and the school is a three-time Tennessee Reward School designation winner.
School leaders say they give educators space to creatively design their lesson plans. The school has unique partnerships with industry leaders in science, technology and math, and with the University of Tennessee at Knoxville , which administrators call an extension of the school's campus.
Students' experience is very college-like . They start later in the morning and have an alternating block schedule with the same classes on rotating days.
How to get into to L&N STEM Academy
The school accepts students from Knox County and surrounding communities. It has 569 students enrolled, according to the latest available data from the Tennessee Department of Education.
All Knox County School high school students and out-of-district students are eligible to apply for a transfer to the school. The academy only accepts transfers from grade nine to 11.
Each class has about 150 students enrolled and if the number of rising ninth and 10th graders who apply for a transfer exceeds that, they go through a lottery process. Rising 11th graders who wish to transfer to the school must go through an interview with the school principal.
Each high school in the county is allocated a set number of seats in the rising ninth grade class based on the number of students the main school enrolls.
For instance, if a school enrolls 10% of all rising ninth graders in the district, its students make up 10% of the total seats at L&N STEM Academy. If a particular zoned school does not fill its seat allotment, the extra seats are placed into a second lottery round for those who did not get through in the first round.
Areena Arora , data and investigative reporter for Knox News, can be reached by email at areena.arora@knoxnews.com . Follow her on X @ AreenaArora and on Instagram @areena_news .
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Gov. Bill Lee touts school choice at Knoxville's L&N STEM Academy
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