Pond Gap, 4530 Papermill Drive: grades Pre-K-5, 335 students in 2024-25, state grade C. Office: 865-909-9040.
Last checked Oct. 18, 2026. Sources: pondgapes.knoxschools.org, Knox County Schools, the Tennessee Department of Education’s State Report Card and data files and the NCES school directory.
Pond Gap Elementary School is a Knox County Schools elementary school for pre-K to 5th grade at 4530 Papermill Drive in Knoxville. The school is inside Knoxville city limits.
Pond Gap was the first community school in Knox County Schools and serves about 350 students on Papermill Drive, according to its About Us page.
Who to call
- Front office: 865-909-9040, 4530 Papermill Drive, Knoxville, TN 37909
- School website: pondgapes.knoxschools.org
- Enrolling a new student: enrollment happens at the zoned school; questions go to the Knox County Schools Office of Enrollment and Transfers, 865-594-1502, according to the district’s enrollment page
- Buses: Knox County Schools Transportation, 865-594-1550, or the Daily Bus Report
- District central office: 865-594-1800
| Address | 4530 Papermill Drive, Knoxville, TN 37909 |
| Phone | 865-909-9040 |
| Grades | Pre-K to 5 |
| School day | 7:45 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. |
| District | Knox County Schools |
| School board district and KCS region | District 1, Region 1 |
| Students, 2024-25 (state count) | 335 |
| State letter grade, 2024-25 | C |
Principal
Principal Sarah Mercer, according to the school’s About Us page.
Enrollment and teachers
- State count: 335 students in the 2024-25 school year, in the Tennessee Department of Education’s school profile file.
- Federal count: 383 students in the 2023-24 school year, with 28 full-time-equivalent teachers, according to the NCES directory. That works out to about 14 students per teacher.
State report card
Tennessee gives most public schools an A-F letter grade. The Department of Education says the grades are meant “to provide a snapshot of how each school performed during the previous academic year,” according to its school letter grades page. The grade combines indicators scored from 1 to 5: student achievement, academic growth, growth of the highest-need students and, for high schools, college and career readiness.
Pond Gap earned a C for 2024-25, the latest grades published, with an overall score of 2.5 out of 5 in the state’s letter grade file.
| Indicator | Score (1 to 5) |
|---|---|
| Achievement | 2 |
| Growth | 3 |
| Growth of highest-need students | 3 |
| Overall success rate, all students, 2024-25 tests | 20.9% |
Spring 2026 TCAP tests (share of students who met or exceeded expectations, all grades, from the state’s 2026 school assessment file):
| Subject | Met or exceeded | Valid tests |
|---|---|---|
| English language arts | 20.6% | 170 |
| Math | 24.3% | 169 |
| Science | 25.3% | 170 |
The full report, with chronic absence and results by student group, is on the State Report Card page for Pond Gap.
Attendance zone and feeder schools
Check any address with the KGIS school zone search, the lookup Knox County Schools sends families to. Zones do not follow city limits. The zone lies entirely or almost entirely inside Knoxville city limits, according to our comparison of the district zone map and city limits published on KGIS.
From the district’s feeder pattern list, Pond Gap feeds Bearden Middle and Northwest Middle for middle school and West High for high school; where more than one is listed, the home address decides.
Families who want a school outside their zone apply for a transfer. The priority window for the 2027-28 school year opened Oct. 1, 2026, and closes at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2027; a final window runs April 1 to June 1, 2027. Seats depend on space, are assigned by lottery-style numbers within priority groups, and transfer students get no bus service, according to the district’s transfer page.
Calendar and bell times
From the Knox County Schools 2026-27 calendar:
- Tuesday, Nov. 3: in-service day, no school for students
- Wednesday, Nov. 18: half day for students
- Nov. 25-27: Thanksgiving holidays, schools closed
- Friday, Dec. 18: half day; end of the first semester
- Dec. 21 to Jan. 1: winter break; students return Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2027
- March 8-12, 2027: spring break
- Wednesday, May 26, 2027: last day for students (half day)
Knox County elementary schools run 7:45 a.m. to 2:45 p.m., and half days 7:45 a.m. to 11:15 a.m., according to the district’s school schedules page.
More on Knoxville schools
- The school’s website and the Knox County Schools list of schools
- Every public school in Knoxville
- Our Knoxville schools guide for enrollment documents, the full calendar and school board meetings
Frequently asked questions
What grades does Pond Gap Elementary School serve?
Pond Gap serves pre-K to 5th grade. It is a Knox County Schools campus at 4530 Papermill Drive, Knoxville; the main office number is 865-909-9040.
What is Pond Gap’s state letter grade?
Pond Gap earned a C in Tennessee’s 2024-25 school letter grades, with an overall score of 2.5 out of 5, according to the Tennessee Department of Education.
Which middle and high school does Pond Gap feed into?
Pond Gap feeds Bearden Middle and Northwest Middle and then West High, depending on the address, according to the Knox County Schools feeder pattern list.
What time does Pond Gap start?
The school day runs 7:45 a.m. to 2:45 p.m., according to the Knox County Schools school schedules page.
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