Ida B. Wells Elementary School, 244 Foster St.: pre-K to 5, 222 students in 2024-25, state letter grade D.
Last checked Oct. 19, 2026. Sources: Ida B. Wells Elementary, Metro Nashville Public Schools’ school directory, 2026-27 pathways chart (PDF), district calendar, school start times and zone finder, the Tennessee Department of Education’s State Report Card, 2024-25 letter grade and school profile files and spring 2026 test file and the federal NCES school directory.
Ida B. Wells Elementary School is a Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) elementary school serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade, in the Maplewood cluster in the Northeast quadrant of the district.
- Address: 244 Foster St., Nashville, TN 37207
- Main office: 615-291-6361
- Grades: pre-K to 5
- School hours: 8:10 a.m. to 3:10 p.m., according to the district’s 2026-27 start times
- Website: idabwells.mnps.org
Who to call
- Front office: 615-291-6361
- Enrolling a new student: the school, or the Maplewood Enrollment Center, 401 Walton Lane, 615-262-6770, option 7, open 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. weekdays (all eight centers); MNPS Family Information Center 615-259-4636
- Checking a zone: the MNPS zone finder
- Buses: MNPS Transportation, 615-259-4636; the district says students who attend their zoned school and live more than 1.25 miles away (1.5 miles for high schools) can ride the bus
Principal
Principal Dexter Adams, according to the school’s website.
Enrollment
The federal NCES directory counted 204 students in the 2023-24 school year, with 17 full-time-equivalent teachers, about 12 students per teacher. The Tennessee Department of Education’s 2024-25 school profile file has a newer count of 222 students, including 19 in pre-K.
State report card
Tennessee grades every public school A to F. The department says School Letter Grades give “a snapshot of how each school in the state is performing, including student achievement and academic growth measures for all schools, as well as a measure of college and career readiness just for high schools.”
From the state’s 2024-25 letter grade file:
| Measure | Ida B. Wells Elementary |
|---|---|
| Overall letter grade, 2024-25 | D (score 2.4 of 5) |
| Achievement grade | D |
| Academic growth grade | C |
| Growth of the lowest-scoring 25% of students | D |
| Overall success rate on state tests, 2024-25 | 29.1% |
The state’s spring 2026 test file has the share of Ida B. Wells Elementary students in tested grades who met or exceeded expectations on TCAP: 20.2% in English language arts, 27.1% in math and 16% in science. The 2025-26 letter grades have not been published yet.
The State Report Card page for Ida B. Wells Elementary holds the full detail: results by grade and subject, chronic absenteeism and results for each group of students.
Attendance zone and feeder schools
MNPS attendance zones do not follow neighborhood lines. Check an address in the zone finder, which shows the zoned elementary, middle and high school, or see the district’s Maplewood cluster map (PDF) and the other maps on its district maps page.
On the district’s 2026-27 pathways chart (PDF), Ida B. Wells Elementary feeds Jere Baxter Middle, along with Shwab Elementary, Tom Joy Elementary, Chadwell Elementary and Hattie Cotton Elementary, and then Maplewood High.
Zone change: MNPS recommended that, beginning in 2026-27, all Ida B. Wells students be zoned to Jere Baxter Middle and Maplewood High, ending a split with the Stratford cluster. The district’s zone change page said the Board of Education would consider the proposal at its Sept. 23, 2025, meeting, and the 2026-27 pathways chart shows the whole school in the Maplewood cluster. Students already zoned to Stratford may stay there, but without district bus service.
Calendar and school hours
The MNPS 2026-27 district calendar has these dates next:
- Thursday, Oct. 22: report cards issued
- Tuesday, Nov. 3: parent conference day, no school for students
- Wednesday, Nov. 11: Veterans Day, district closed
- Nov. 23-27: Thanksgiving break (district closed Nov. 26-27)
- Friday, Dec. 18: half day; the second quarter ends
- Dec. 21 to Jan. 1: winter break
- March 22-26, 2027: spring break and the spring holiday
- Tuesday, May 25, 2027: last day for students, a half day
The school day runs 8:10 a.m. to 3:10 p.m., according to the district’s 2026-27 school start times, which the Board of Education approved as part of a districtwide adjustment.
More
- The school’s own site: idabwells.mnps.org
- The school’s listing in the MNPS schools directory
- Neighborhood guides for the Maplewood zone: East Nashville, Madison
- Every public school in the city: Nashville public schools
- Calendars, enrollment and the school board: our Nashville schools guide
Frequently asked questions
What grades does Ida B. Wells Elementary serve?
Pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. The school is at 244 Foster St. in Nashville; the main office number is 615-291-6361.
What is Ida B. Wells Elementary’s state report card grade?
Ida B. Wells Elementary received a D overall in Tennessee’s 2024-25 School Letter Grades, according to the Tennessee Department of Education.
Which middle school does Ida B. Wells Elementary feed into?
Jere Baxter Middle, and then Maplewood High, according to MNPS’s 2026-27 pathways chart. Check an address in the MNPS zone finder.
What time does Ida B. Wells Elementary start?
School runs from 8:10 a.m. to 3:10 p.m., according to the district’s 2026-27 school start times.
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