Powell High, 2136 W. Emory Road: grades 9-12, 1,253 students in 2024-25, state grade B. Office: 865-938-2171.

Last checked Oct. 18, 2026. Sources: powellhs.knoxschools.org, Knox County Schools, the Tennessee Department of Education’s State Report Card and data files, the NCES school directory and the TSSAA.

Powell High School is a Knox County Schools high school for grades 9 to 12 at 2136 W. Emory Road in Powell. The school is in unincorporated Knox County with a Powell mailing address, outside Knoxville city limits, but its attendance zone takes in part of the city.

Powell High has served the community since 1913, according to its About Us page.

Who to call
Address 2136 W. Emory Road, Powell, TN 37849
Phone 865-938-2171
Grades 9 to 12
School day 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
District Knox County Schools
School board district and KCS region District 7, Region 2
Students, 2024-25 (state count) 1,253
State letter grade, 2024-25 B

Principal

Executive Principal Chad Smith, according to the school’s About Us page.

Enrollment and teachers

  • State count: 1,253 students in the 2024-25 school year, in the Tennessee Department of Education’s school profile file.
  • Federal count: 1,292 students in the 2023-24 school year, with 80 full-time-equivalent teachers, according to the NCES directory. That works out to about 16 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.

Powell High earned a B for 2024-25, the latest grades published, with an overall score of 4.3 out of 5 in the state’s letter grade file.

Indicator Score (1 to 5)
Achievement 4
Growth 5
Growth of highest-need students 5
College and career readiness 3
Overall success rate, all students, 2024-25 tests 37.5%

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 I 30.3% 264
English II 51.5% 270
Algebra I 16.5% 236
Geometry 30.3% 267
Algebra II 34.2% 281
Biology 51.7% 269
U.S. history 44% 209
  • Graduation rate, class of 2025: 93% (294 of 316 students), in the state’s graduation rate file.
  • ACT, 2024-25: average composite score 18.5; 31.7% of 287 test takers scored 21 or higher, per the state ACT file.

The full report, with chronic absence and results by student group, is on the State Report Card page for Powell High.

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. About 18% of the zone’s area lies inside Knoxville city limits, according to our comparison of the district zone map and city limits published on KGIS; most of it is unincorporated Knox County.

From the district’s feeder pattern list, Powell High draws from Gresham Middle, Northwest Middle and Powell Middle, some of them only in part.

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)

Regular days run 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and half days end at noon, according to the district’s school schedules page.

Sports and activities

Powell High plays football in Class 5A, Region 2 for 2026-27, according to the TSSAA’s current alignments, with Campbell County, Clinton, Karns, Central, Halls, West and William Blount. In basketball it is in Class 4A, District 3, with Campbell County, Karns, Central, Halls and West.

The school’s athletics page lists baseball, boys and girls basketball, bowling, cheerleading, cross country, dance, girls flag football, football, golf, boys and girls soccer, softball, tennis, track and field, ultimate frisbee, volleyball and wrestling.

Follow the season on our Friday night football page and the high school scoreboard.

More on Knoxville schools

Frequently asked questions

What grades does Powell High School serve?

Powell High serves grades 9 to 12. It is a Knox County Schools campus at 2136 W. Emory Road, Powell; the main office number is 865-938-2171.

What is Powell High’s state letter grade?

Powell High earned a B in Tennessee’s 2024-25 school letter grades, with an overall score of 4.3 out of 5, according to the Tennessee Department of Education.

What time does Powell High start?

The school day runs 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., according to the Knox County Schools school schedules page.

What classification is Powell High in for football?

Powell High plays in Class 5A, Region 2, in the TSSAA’s 2026-27 football alignment.