The Bright School
1950 McDade Ln, Chattanooga, TN 37405Open, per Google (checked Sep 20, 2026)
Key facts
- Tuition, 2026-27
- $20,000
- Grades
- PreK-5
- Students (K-12)
- 278
- Students per teacher
- 9.2
- Affiliation
- Nonsectarian
- From Chattanooga center
- 2.7 miles
Can you use EFS here?
✓ On the official Tennessee Education Freedom Scholarship list
- State list
- Includes this school
- Applying
- For 2026-27, renewals opened December 9, 2025 and new applications opened January 13, 2026. The window closed February 6, 2026 at 4 p.m. Central, the department’s applications page and its February 20, 2026 announcement say; its 2026-27 FAQ, dated December 22, 2025 and not updated since, still gives January 30, 2026. Dates for 2027-28 are not posted yet.
Source: the official list, dated August 24, 2026.
What you would pay here
- Tuition
- $20,000 (K to 5, 2026-27)
- Award
- about $7,530
- Left to pay
- about $12,470, before fees
Award $7,530 Left to pay $12,470
- Tuition: the school’s website, checked October 6, 2026.
- Award: Tennessee Department of Education, Education Freedom Scholarships, read October 9, 2026.
- Lowest listed grade band; fees and aid not included. Change the numbers
School facts
- Teachers
- 33
- Student body
- Coeducational
- Setting
- City
- Accreditation, state list
- Accredited by Southern Association of Independent Schools (SAIS) (Tennessee Category III), per the Tennessee Department of Education approved list of non-public schools, updated September 10, 2026.
- Accreditation: the state’s list.
- School facts, kindergarten to grade 12: U.S. Department of Education, NCES Private School Survey 2023-24, read September 20, 2026.
Where this comes from. Something wrong? Tell us and we will fix it.
Students and school year
Enrollment over time
- 2019-20 to 2023-24
- 266 to 278, up 12 (5%)
- Path
- Grew in each survey (267 in 2021-22)
Students by grade, 2023-24 (pre-K is not in the K-12 count)
- Largest grade
- Grade 1 (49)
- Smallest grade
- Grade 4 (41)
- Average a grade
- About 46
The school year
- Days in the school year
- 175
- Length of the school day
- 7 hours 15 minutes
- Hours of school a year
- about 1,270
- Kindergarten
- Full day, 5 days a week
- Library or media center
- Yes
- Year, against Tennessee
- 5 days shorter than the 180-day median of 372 schools we list
- School day, against Tennessee
- 15 minutes longer than the median of 7 hours (373 schools we list)
How it compares
- Students per teacher
- 9.2 here; median 8.8 at 114 TN elementary schools
- Size in Hamilton County
- Larger than 18 of 28 other schools we list
Student body, 2023-24
Shares of K-12 students by race and ethnicity, as NCES reports them.
- Grades, school year and student body: U.S. Department of Education, NCES Private School Survey 2023-24, read September 20, 2026.
- Earlier counts: NCES Private School Survey 2019-20 and 2021-22, read October 14, 2026.
- Comparisons: the private schools ChoiceFunded lists, as of this page’s last update.
The Bright School tuition, and what EFS pays
- Grades K to 5, 2026-27
- $20,000
- By grade
- Rates vary within these bands (details below)
What is left after the award: worked out at the top of this page.
Tuition from The Bright School's website, checked October 6, 2026.
Figures read from each program’s official pages, October 2, 2026. Sources and how to apply
What would you pay at The Bright School?
Use $0 or more.
Tuition and fees EFS pays You pay per year Spread over 10 months
- Tuition filled in: the lowest published price we list (K to 5, 2026-27).
- Award filled in: the 2026-27 EFS award for that grade band.
- Change them for your child’s grade.
- Ask the school
- Whether its published 2026-27 tuition is still current; whether it still takes Education Freedom Scholarship for 2026-27; whether seats are still open. More questions to ask
The Bright School admissions
- Application deadline
- February 1, 2027
- School year
- 2027-28
Source: school website, checked October 6, 2026. Dates can change, so confirm them with the admissions office. Other schools' application deadlines.
Tuition at nearby private schools
| School | Published tuition | Year | Miles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Girls Preparatory School | $35,350 to $36,440 | 2026-27 | 1.7 |
| St. Jude School | $11,000 | 2026-27 | 2.5 |
| Baylor School | $34,875 | 2026-27 | 2.8 |
Each figure was read on that school's own website. Ranges run from the lowest to the highest grade band.
Other private schools nearby
| School | Grades | Students | Miles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Girls Preparatory School ✓ | 6-12 | 516 | 2 |
| St. Peters Episcopal School ✓ | PreK-5 | 181 | 2 |
| Point Christian Academy ✓ | On the state list; not in the federal survey | 2 | |
| St. Jude School ✓ | PreK-8 | 285 | 2 |
| Scholze Adolescent Center | 8-12 | 14 | 3 |
| Avondale Seventh Day Adventist School ✓ | K-8 | 51 | 3 |
| Baylor School ✓ | 6-12 | 1,078 | 3 |
| Montessori School ✓ | PreK-6 | 90 | 3 |
On the program’s official list Other private schools
Keep looking
- All private schools near Chattanooga
- Private elementary schools in Tennessee
- Private schools with kindergarten in Tennessee
- Private schools with pre-K in Tennessee
- Private schools in Hamilton County
- Tennessee Education Freedom Scholarships: amount and eligibility
- All Tennessee Education Freedom Scholarships schools
No new EFS application dates are posted yet. How EFS works.
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