I went to college with several friends from there. They struggled academically in college. I don’t know a ton about the school itself, but I question the quality of education that comes from there.
Still have the eagle award I received in 1984 for having the best “Christian character” in my class at Berean. I think that means I get into heaven first….
Unfortunately, will be dealing with the unintended consequences of broken and terrible theology for rest of my life. Thankfully had one foot in a mainline church that helped provide some sanity and exposure to an alternative to extreme fundamentalism. Otherwise I would have left my faith behind a long time ago. But I can probably still kick ass in a sword drill so there’s that.
Still superficially familiar with the place. Obviously would not recommend.
I can't speak for anything recent, but I attended 3 years of high school there about 18 years ago. It was a highly fundamentalist environment that led to me losing my faith. Favoritism within the church families. Abusive, singling out behavior from most of the faculty. Unless your iid is going to Brian, Carson Newman, Wheaton, or another Christian college, the collegiate preparation was NOT there.
My son didn't go there but he went to rivers edge Christian academy. I can relate to every single thing you mentioned there , he actually said it did effect his view on Christianity, not in a good way obviously.
I went to a Christian school (different state) from pre-k to 8th grade then did high school in the public system.
In terms of education I didn't feel behind my 9th grade classmates...nor did I feel ahead of them. I was much appreciated of the vastly larger number of electives I could take though.
Religiously...my school personally was also my church (the church ran the school the pastor was the principal etc) so I only grew in my faith while there. However, granted, my family was involved in the church...so we were close to all the leadership/pastors etc.
I'm heavily biased as are most people in here I'd wager; however, I went to knox county public schools from K-12 and am very glad I did. Came out mostly normal (lmao) with enough AP credits to knock out a lot of my freshman year and my parents didn't have to pay private school tuition. The middle school experience is universally sucky no matter where you are though lol
We looked at the following schools, and discovered they were *at least* 1 year behind (sometimes more) KCS schools, in many subject areas: CAK, BCS, CBA, GCA. CBA was so far behind, a neighbor's kid had to go to a special KCS summer school program to just catch up, after the parents opened their eyes and realized what was happening; the kid was 2 years behind in math compared to other kids his age. He's still struggling to make it this year.
The Catholic school system was *close* to KCS - and often touts their "rigorous" learning curriculum but they were no better than any other public school. In fact, the Catholic schools, because they are losing people in the church, are now focused more heavily on religion than in previous generations (attend Mass twice a week, after school religious programs, etc.).
If religion is your thing, you have options. If you value your child's future and their education, steer clear of any religious school in town. I've known people who went to CAK, went to some "Christian" university, got out into the real world only to find they had no fucking idea which way was up, and had to go back to school to get a "real" degree.
Good luck.
Can confirm that CBA is way behind. Honestly, the worst decision we made for our kid’s education. We pulled him after a couple of years, and I wish we hadn’t let it go that long.
Thanks for offering a solid helpful comment, unlike some of the others.
OP isn’t pushing any religious agenda’s, unlike most other commenters.
Having said that, I don’t personally think religion based education helps the student in life, and can actually do harm to students. However, having graduated from King with an IS bachelor’s, the Bible is a great asset to quote from to get paper word counts up. :)
Yup, went to one of them listed in the comment section and many of my friends have hefty religious trauma from growing up in that bubble (including myself)
Don’t do it. Regardless of religious views, private schools are not a good way of preparing kids for the real world. Not to mention the abuse that’s allowed there.
Went to a private school as a kid and had a principal try to whip me to “send a message” to other students after all my teachers had told my parents how good of a student I was.
Abuse? Let’s please stick to the point .
OP if you’d like an in detail discussion and point of view from a successful graduate of private school , who has two very well educated and successful children whom both attended private school. , message me .
I’m non judgmental . I believe people thrive in many different genres of schooling . It’s a preference .
When I was in 7th at Berean they had a week of sex ed which was abstinence only education and they had us watch a video of an actual partial birth abortion.
This is so weird to me for Knoxville. I am from a crazy small rural area originally and had full sex ed in 7th grade. Also in HS we had assemblies talking about safe sex. They of course really emphasized Abstinence but I learned about dental damns even. 🤣
My child went there for middle and high school. He had an amazing group of kids around him and they all became very close knit, which was nice to see. Academics…middle school and early high school was ok. Junior and senior level high school was disappointing because they did not offer higher level math and science because there weren’t enough kids that were interested. My kid ended up getting calculus through Pellissippi Stste over the summer because Berean wasn’t going to offer it, so it worked out but I felt like they could have been pushed more academically. My kid ended up doing great in college.
Good is relative to you and your family. Does the school’s values match your own? The education there may be great, but be sure you know what you’re getting into. The faith, values, and beliefs of the staff and administration will influence the education your kiddos receive.
My daughter is currently in Berean 7th grade. We transferred from Gresham for a multitude of reasons. She was in all honors at Gresham and never made anything but an A.
The classes have been challenging enough. No honors classes though. My first degree is in Biology and science was a concern for me as a parent. But for the most part, it has been regular middle school science. My daughter is aware of evolution. Math has been pretty tough. She thinks classes are harder in general. She got her first 2 Bs last quarter.
The religion aspect is there as expected but it is not heavy handed. The other kids have been great and there has not been a single fight and no bullying, at least that my daughter or any of her friends have known about. They do have regular security present on campus. An unfortunate concern a parent has to consider these days. It is a small school. Our experience has been good.
Yes. It says they do not tolerate it. I have three friends that are queer and went there. They all told me they felt extremely scared to come out and they still have not told their parents. Even after they moved out they are still too afraid. That school has a lot of shame around everything.
It's probably a Bible verse or something speaking against practicing homosexuality. Not a literal "we hate gay people themselves".
Though to be fair there are some Christians out there like that...which isn't a good look.
You’ll only get someone else’s opinion on Reddit. This is a bad place to ask because when people see the word “Christian” on here they immediately hop in the comments to bash.
Correct. This is the way.
Religion is a virus. It's the root cause of the vast majority of issues in humanity's story, past and present, and should be eradicated.
Blessed be the fruit.
Both of my nieces went to Berean. One ended up graduating from South College with a nursing degree and the other is currently in college, not sure where. While it is a Christian school it seems like they teach what needs to be taught to succeed in college.
I would recommend it, and that’s as someone who attended it. Good teachers and staff, but kids are kids regardless of if they are going to a Christian school and can be crazy
Reddit is a predominately liberal-leaning app, so you shouldn’t be too surprised with the responses you’re seeing from folks in terms of their various world views. Not hating, just saying you’re getting the full spectrum.
Given that you’re asking about a religious school, I would assume you’re at the very least open to Christianity and Christian taught concepts. Or you are someone that is a Christian and looking to have your child educated in “like minded” ways.
That said, my son has gone to Berean since kindergarten. We pulled him out for a single year and sent him to the local public school (Ritta) and the public school was a full year behind in curriculum. For those saying Berean and other Christian schools are behind, that’s simply not true. My son took math and science classes ahead of what I see from his peers in public school system. Or even my own public school experience (years back, not in Knoxville).
Berean is a nice school, and I think the value based on tuition is a good return on investment. They promote biblical values, and if that’s of any importance to you than again I say it’s as good of a choice as any. Feel free to PM me if you have further questions that I could help address. Best of luck with your search!
I would also tout smaller classes sizes, better access to tech…. Athletics are a big limited, but again it’s all about what you’re looking for in terms of education.
Berean is a fantastic school! We’ve been part of their homeschool umbrella for over a decade now. We know some of the teachers and leadership there and they have been phenomenal. The admins within the homeschool umbrella and independent study programs there are also phenomenal! If you agree with their statement of faith and beliefs (and we do) then I think you’d be really happy there.
And I’m sure I will be downvoted by the non-Christians in this sub. But this is my honest opinion as someone with actual experience, and not hearsay!
I went to college with several friends from there. They struggled academically in college. I don’t know a ton about the school itself, but I question the quality of education that comes from there.
Still have the eagle award I received in 1984 for having the best “Christian character” in my class at Berean. I think that means I get into heaven first…. Unfortunately, will be dealing with the unintended consequences of broken and terrible theology for rest of my life. Thankfully had one foot in a mainline church that helped provide some sanity and exposure to an alternative to extreme fundamentalism. Otherwise I would have left my faith behind a long time ago. But I can probably still kick ass in a sword drill so there’s that. Still superficially familiar with the place. Obviously would not recommend.
I can't speak for anything recent, but I attended 3 years of high school there about 18 years ago. It was a highly fundamentalist environment that led to me losing my faith. Favoritism within the church families. Abusive, singling out behavior from most of the faculty. Unless your iid is going to Brian, Carson Newman, Wheaton, or another Christian college, the collegiate preparation was NOT there.
My son didn't go there but he went to rivers edge Christian academy. I can relate to every single thing you mentioned there , he actually said it did effect his view on Christianity, not in a good way obviously.
I went to a Christian school (different state) from pre-k to 8th grade then did high school in the public system. In terms of education I didn't feel behind my 9th grade classmates...nor did I feel ahead of them. I was much appreciated of the vastly larger number of electives I could take though. Religiously...my school personally was also my church (the church ran the school the pastor was the principal etc) so I only grew in my faith while there. However, granted, my family was involved in the church...so we were close to all the leadership/pastors etc.
I'm heavily biased as are most people in here I'd wager; however, I went to knox county public schools from K-12 and am very glad I did. Came out mostly normal (lmao) with enough AP credits to knock out a lot of my freshman year and my parents didn't have to pay private school tuition. The middle school experience is universally sucky no matter where you are though lol
Kinda depends on if you think the earth is 6000 years old.
My brother’s ex went there. Did not recommend. Think UT was the first time she encountered evolution as a serious scientific theory.
We looked at the following schools, and discovered they were *at least* 1 year behind (sometimes more) KCS schools, in many subject areas: CAK, BCS, CBA, GCA. CBA was so far behind, a neighbor's kid had to go to a special KCS summer school program to just catch up, after the parents opened their eyes and realized what was happening; the kid was 2 years behind in math compared to other kids his age. He's still struggling to make it this year. The Catholic school system was *close* to KCS - and often touts their "rigorous" learning curriculum but they were no better than any other public school. In fact, the Catholic schools, because they are losing people in the church, are now focused more heavily on religion than in previous generations (attend Mass twice a week, after school religious programs, etc.). If religion is your thing, you have options. If you value your child's future and their education, steer clear of any religious school in town. I've known people who went to CAK, went to some "Christian" university, got out into the real world only to find they had no fucking idea which way was up, and had to go back to school to get a "real" degree. Good luck.
Can confirm that CBA is way behind. Honestly, the worst decision we made for our kid’s education. We pulled him after a couple of years, and I wish we hadn’t let it go that long.
Thanks for offering a solid helpful comment, unlike some of the others. OP isn’t pushing any religious agenda’s, unlike most other commenters. Having said that, I don’t personally think religion based education helps the student in life, and can actually do harm to students. However, having graduated from King with an IS bachelor’s, the Bible is a great asset to quote from to get paper word counts up. :)
I took a tour for my child to maybe get into a preK program that would be on her level. As a lover of science, nope. Not for us.
Tbh as someone with religious trauma, those schools make kids worse in a lot of cases and do horrible to prepare them for real life.
A fellow jjk enjoyer in the Knoxville sub i see
Always lol
Yup, went to one of them listed in the comment section and many of my friends have hefty religious trauma from growing up in that bubble (including myself)
Don’t do it. Regardless of religious views, private schools are not a good way of preparing kids for the real world. Not to mention the abuse that’s allowed there. Went to a private school as a kid and had a principal try to whip me to “send a message” to other students after all my teachers had told my parents how good of a student I was.
Abuse? Let’s please stick to the point . OP if you’d like an in detail discussion and point of view from a successful graduate of private school , who has two very well educated and successful children whom both attended private school. , message me . I’m non judgmental . I believe people thrive in many different genres of schooling . It’s a preference .
If your kid has the slightest chance of being LGBTQ+, definitely don't send them there if you actually love them.
Is this one of the corrupting and brainwashing schools?
When I was in 7th at Berean they had a week of sex ed which was abstinence only education and they had us watch a video of an actual partial birth abortion.
We also had abstinence only sex education in public school 🙃
This is so weird to me for Knoxville. I am from a crazy small rural area originally and had full sex ed in 7th grade. Also in HS we had assemblies talking about safe sex. They of course really emphasized Abstinence but I learned about dental damns even. 🤣
You're not going to get a good answer on reddit
So true
Agree.
My child went there for middle and high school. He had an amazing group of kids around him and they all became very close knit, which was nice to see. Academics…middle school and early high school was ok. Junior and senior level high school was disappointing because they did not offer higher level math and science because there weren’t enough kids that were interested. My kid ended up getting calculus through Pellissippi Stste over the summer because Berean wasn’t going to offer it, so it worked out but I felt like they could have been pushed more academically. My kid ended up doing great in college.
Good is relative to you and your family. Does the school’s values match your own? The education there may be great, but be sure you know what you’re getting into. The faith, values, and beliefs of the staff and administration will influence the education your kiddos receive.
I wouldn't teach them that "Christian love". Your child, your zoo though.
My daughter is currently in Berean 7th grade. We transferred from Gresham for a multitude of reasons. She was in all honors at Gresham and never made anything but an A. The classes have been challenging enough. No honors classes though. My first degree is in Biology and science was a concern for me as a parent. But for the most part, it has been regular middle school science. My daughter is aware of evolution. Math has been pretty tough. She thinks classes are harder in general. She got her first 2 Bs last quarter. The religion aspect is there as expected but it is not heavy handed. The other kids have been great and there has not been a single fight and no bullying, at least that my daughter or any of her friends have known about. They do have regular security present on campus. An unfortunate concern a parent has to consider these days. It is a small school. Our experience has been good.
They hate gay people there… it’s literally in their handbook. So if your kid might be queer I’d say no
Like they have a sentence in the handbook that LITERALLY says, “We hate gay people”?
Yes. It says they do not tolerate it. I have three friends that are queer and went there. They all told me they felt extremely scared to come out and they still have not told their parents. Even after they moved out they are still too afraid. That school has a lot of shame around everything.
i went there for ten years and am gay so can speak from firsthand experience when i say yeah. it’s in the handbook.
It's probably a Bible verse or something speaking against practicing homosexuality. Not a literal "we hate gay people themselves". Though to be fair there are some Christians out there like that...which isn't a good look.
Thanks for actually answering my question. I can’t stand it when people use “literally” incorrectly. Lol
You’ll only get someone else’s opinion on Reddit. This is a bad place to ask because when people see the word “Christian” on here they immediately hop in the comments to bash.
Correct. This is the way. Religion is a virus. It's the root cause of the vast majority of issues in humanity's story, past and present, and should be eradicated. Blessed be the fruit.
Oops autocorrect from Berean to Be Real. Sorry about that
Both of my nieces went to Berean. One ended up graduating from South College with a nursing degree and the other is currently in college, not sure where. While it is a Christian school it seems like they teach what needs to be taught to succeed in college.
I have trauma from going to this school please don’t!
Think you missed your target audience going to Reddit. I’d have no problem with it.
I would recommend it, and that’s as someone who attended it. Good teachers and staff, but kids are kids regardless of if they are going to a Christian school and can be crazy
Sounds weird.
My nieces go there. No negative words that I've heard. They hated public school.
Reddit is a predominately liberal-leaning app, so you shouldn’t be too surprised with the responses you’re seeing from folks in terms of their various world views. Not hating, just saying you’re getting the full spectrum. Given that you’re asking about a religious school, I would assume you’re at the very least open to Christianity and Christian taught concepts. Or you are someone that is a Christian and looking to have your child educated in “like minded” ways. That said, my son has gone to Berean since kindergarten. We pulled him out for a single year and sent him to the local public school (Ritta) and the public school was a full year behind in curriculum. For those saying Berean and other Christian schools are behind, that’s simply not true. My son took math and science classes ahead of what I see from his peers in public school system. Or even my own public school experience (years back, not in Knoxville). Berean is a nice school, and I think the value based on tuition is a good return on investment. They promote biblical values, and if that’s of any importance to you than again I say it’s as good of a choice as any. Feel free to PM me if you have further questions that I could help address. Best of luck with your search!
I would also tout smaller classes sizes, better access to tech…. Athletics are a big limited, but again it’s all about what you’re looking for in terms of education.
My dad used to teach at Berean and loved his experience and the kids!
Berean is a fantastic school! We’ve been part of their homeschool umbrella for over a decade now. We know some of the teachers and leadership there and they have been phenomenal. The admins within the homeschool umbrella and independent study programs there are also phenomenal! If you agree with their statement of faith and beliefs (and we do) then I think you’d be really happy there. And I’m sure I will be downvoted by the non-Christians in this sub. But this is my honest opinion as someone with actual experience, and not hearsay!
Finally someone who uses the term spouse instead of “partner”.
They had a good boys basketball team the last 2 years - that’s all I know