Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences: admission, report card

Last checked Oct. 18, 2026. Sources: Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences, Hamilton County Schools, the Tennessee Department of Education’s State Report Card and 2024-25 and 2026 data files, the federal NCES school directory and the TSSAA.

Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences (CSAS) is a Hamilton County Schools magnet school for kindergarten through 12th grade on East Third Street. Its history page says CSAS opened as a middle school in 1986, graduated its first seniors in 1991 and follows the Paideia model of seminar teaching; its main building, Wyatt Hall, was completed in 1922. It has no attendance zone: families apply through the district’s School Choice lottery.

• Address: 865 E. Third St., Chattanooga, TN 37403
• Main office: 423-498-6845
• Grades: K to 12
• School hours: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Website: csask12.hcde.org

Who to call

• Front office: 423-498-6845
• Enrolling a new student: the district’s registration page, or the Family Connection Center, 423-843-4799, at 3074 Claude Ramsey Parkway
• Applying: the district’s School Choice page
• Buses: the district’s transportation hotline, 423-498-5555, and its Bus Stop Finder

Principal

Dr. Jesse Goins is principal of the Lower School (kindergarten to fifth grade) and Dr. Christin Carlisle principal of the Upper School (sixth to 12th grade), according to the school’s website. Dr. Valerie Smith is assistant principal for kindergarten to fifth grade.

Enrollment

For Upper School, grades 6-12, the federal NCES directory counted 733 students in the 2023-24 school year, with 43 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 741 students. For Lower School, grades K-5, the federal NCES directory counted 388 students in the 2023-24 school year, with 25 full-time-equivalent teachers, about 16 students per teacher. The Tennessee Department of Education’s 2024-25 school profile file has a newer count of 388 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.”

Upper School, grades 6-12

Lower School, grades K-5

Figures come from the state’s 2024-25 letter grade file, 2025 graduation rate file and 2024-25 ACT file.

The state’s spring 2026 test file has the share of students who met or exceeded expectations on each test. In Upper School, grades 6-12: on the TCAP achievement tests for grades 3 to 8, social studies 74.8%, science 65.7%, math 55.9% and English language arts 54.9%; and on the high school end-of-course exams, English II 87.4%, Algebra II 68.5%, Biology 63.9%, English I 60.2%, Algebra I 59.6% and Geometry 49.5%. In Lower School, grades K-5: on the TCAP achievement tests for grades 3 to 8, science 69.2%, English language arts 62.4% and math 58.8%. The 2025-26 letter grades have not been published yet.

The State Report Card page for Upper School, grades 6-12 and Lower School, grades K-5 holds the full detail: results by subject and grade, chronic absenteeism and results for each group of students.

Admission and attendance zone

CSAS has no attendance zone. Hamilton County Schools’ School Choice page says kindergarten admission is by a balanced lottery, “a district-wide lottery with seats proportionally allocated by school board district”; seats in other grades go through the regular choice lottery when they open. The district says the School Choice application period runs each year from Nov. 16 through Jan. 29; seats are filled first from applications received in that window, and a lottery decides when there are more applicants than seats, followed by a waitlist.

Calendar and school hours

Hamilton County Schools’ 2026-27 school calendar (PDF, linked from the district’s calendar page, board-approved May 8, 2025) has these dates next:

• Monday, Oct. 19: second quarter begins
• Friday, Oct. 23: first-quarter report cards
• Nov. 25-27: Thanksgiving break
• Friday, Dec. 18: second quarter ends
• Dec. 21 to Jan. 1: winter break
• Jan. 4-5, 2027: professional development days, no school for students
• Monday, Jan. 18: Martin Luther King Jr. Day
• Monday, Feb. 15: Presidents Day
• March 22-25: spring break, followed by the Good Friday holiday on Friday, March 26
• Wednesday, May 19, 2027: fourth quarter ends; last day for students

School hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., according to the district’s 2026-27 bell schedule, which lists early dismissal at 12:30 p.m. on half days.

Sports and activities

CSAS basketball is in the TSSAA’s Class 2A, Region 2, District 4 for 2026-27, with Chattanooga Prep, Polk County and Tyner Academy.

The school’s athletics page says CSAS offers a variety of athletic opportunities and names Erin Bacon as athletic director.

More

• The school’s own site: csask12.hcde.org, listed on the district’s School Websites page
• Every public school in town: Chattanooga public schools
• Calendars, enrollment and the school board: our Chattanooga schools guide
• Game nights: Friday night football and the scoreboard

Frequently asked questions

What grades does Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences serve?

Kindergarten through 12th grade. The main office number is 423-498-6845.

What is Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences’s state report card grade?

In Tennessee’s 2024-25 School Letter Grades, the state gave a B for the Upper School, grades 6-12 and a B for the Lower School, grades K-5, according to the Tennessee Department of Education.

How do you get into CSAS?

Through Hamilton County Schools’ School Choice application, which runs from Nov. 16 through Jan. 29 each year. Kindergarten seats go by a balanced lottery across school board districts.

What time does Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences start?

School runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., according to the district’s 2026-27 bell schedule.