James Lawson High School, 8001 Highway 70 S.: grades 9-12, 1,393 students in 2024-25, state letter grade D.
Last checked Oct. 19, 2026. Sources: James Lawson High, 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, school profile, graduation rate and ACT files and spring 2026 test file, the federal NCES school directory, the TSSAA’s 2026-27 classifications.
James Lawson High School is a Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) high school serving ninth grade through 12th grade, in the Lawson cluster in the Southwest quadrant of the district.
- Address: 8001 Highway 70 S., Nashville, TN 37221
- Main office: 615-353-2025
- Grades: 9-12
- School hours: 7:25 a.m. to 2:25 p.m., according to the district’s 2026-27 start times
- Website: lawson.mnps.org
Who to call
- Front office: 615-353-2025
- Enrolling a new student: the school, or the Lawson Enrollment Center, 8001 Highway 70 S., 615-353-6000, 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 Stephen Sheaffer, according to the school’s website.
Enrollment
The federal NCES directory counted 1,236 students in the 2023-24 school year, with 71 full-time-equivalent teachers, about 17 students per teacher. The Tennessee Department of Education’s 2024-25 school profile file has a newer count of 1,393 students.
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, 2025 graduation rate file and 2024-25 ACT file:
| Measure | James Lawson High |
|---|---|
| Overall letter grade, 2024-25 | D (score 2.3 of 5) |
| Achievement grade | C |
| Academic growth grade | F |
| Growth of the lowest-scoring 25% of students | F |
| College and career readiness grade | B |
| Overall success rate on state tests, 2024-25 | 25.2% |
| College and career readiness rate, 2024-25 | 55.5% |
| Graduation rate, class of 2025 | 92.8% (269 of 290 students) |
| Average ACT composite, 2024-25 | 16.9 (267 students tested) |
The state’s spring 2026 test file has the share of James Lawson High students who met or exceeded expectations on each end-of-course exam: English I 24.3%, English II 35.9%, Integrated Math I 15.5%, Integrated Math II 25.1%, Integrated Math III 17.6%, Biology 40.7% and U.S. History 16.4%. The 2025-26 letter grades have not been published yet.
The State Report Card page for James Lawson High 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 Lawson cluster map (PDF) and the other maps on its district maps page.
On the district’s 2026-27 pathways chart (PDF), the Lawson cluster’s middle schools, H.G. Hill Middle and Bellevue Middle, feed James Lawson High.
The cluster’s elementary schools are Charlotte Park Elementary, Gower Elementary, Harpeth Valley Elementary and Westmeade Elementary.
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)
- Dec. 15-17: half days for high school exams
- 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 7:25 a.m. to 2:25 p.m., according to the district’s 2026-27 school start times, which the Board of Education approved as part of a districtwide adjustment.
Sports and activities
James Lawson High competes in the TSSAA, the state high school athletic association. For 2026-27, the TSSAA football classification list puts its team in Class 5A, Region 5, with Centennial, Hillsboro, Nolensville and Page. Boys basketball is in Class 4A, Region 4, District 8. It is one of the Academies of Nashville high schools; its website lists three career academies: Academy of Art, Design and Communication; Academy of Business and Hospitality; and Academy of Health Sciences. Its website also lists an AP Scholars program. For game nights, see our Friday night football guide and the scoreboard.
More
- The school’s own site: lawson.mnps.org
- The school’s listing in the MNPS schools directory
- Neighborhood guides for the Lawson zone: Bellevue, West Nashville
- 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 James Lawson High serve?
Ninth grade through 12th grade. The school is at 8001 Highway 70 S. in Nashville; the main office number is 615-353-2025.
What is James Lawson High’s state report card grade?
James Lawson High received a D overall in Tennessee’s 2024-25 School Letter Grades, according to the Tennessee Department of Education.
What time does James Lawson High start?
School runs from 7:25 a.m. to 2:25 p.m., according to the district’s 2026-27 school start times.
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