Enrollment up at Diocese of Knoxville schools amid Church growth in East Tennessee
By Bill Brewer
The early numbers are in, and the results reveal an exciting, healthy trend in Catholic education in East Tennessee.
Student enrollment is up again at Diocese of Knoxville schools as the 2026-27 academic year gets underway.
School principals have submitted initial enrollment information to the Office of Catholic Schools revealing that classroom populations in the diocese are ascending. The welcome news comes as shifts in Catholic-school enrollment across the United States show increases in some parts of the country and decreases in other regions.
The takeaway is more students are attending diocesan foundational and high schools. The percentage growth tracks with a rising number of people joining the Catholic Church in the Diocese of Knoxville and the rapidly rising population of the area as more people move to Tennessee from other parts of the country.
Another factor could be the impact of the state Education Freedom Scholarships, now entering their second school year, which make Catholic schools more affordable to more families.
First day of school at St. Mary School in Oak Ridge (Photo Bee Goodman)
“This is a very exciting time for our Catholic schools in the Diocese of Knoxville. The five-year upward trend is something to be examined as we prepare for the future, considering paths of growth in continuing our mission of excellence, preparing scholars, leaders, and saints who will carry on the Catholic legacy,” said Martha Mundine, the new superintendent of schools for the diocese.
Mrs. Mundine joins the Diocese of Knoxville from the Archdiocese of New Orleans, where she served as deputy superintendent of a Catholic education system with 66 schools.
The Diocese of Knoxville’s eight foundational schools and two high schools are St. Dominic in Kingsport, St. Mary in Johnson City, Knoxville Catholic High School, St. Mary in Oak Ridge, St. John Neumann in Farragut, St. Joseph in Knoxville, Sacred Heart Cathedral School in Knoxville, Notre Dame High School in Chattanooga, Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Chattanooga, and St. Jude, which also is in Chattanooga.
“We are excited that overall, our Catholic schools grew 1.9 percent in enrollment, with an additional 68 students for the new school year. Compare that to 2021, and our enrollment has increased by 373 additional students, or 11percent,” said Mary-Hannah MacCurdy, director of development for the diocese’s Office of Catholic Schools.
Among the diocesan schools showing marked increases are Notre Dame High School in Chattanooga, which is up more than 30 students from last year, and St. Jude School, also in Chattanooga, which is reporting an increase of 26 students over the 2025-26 academic year.
Bishop Mark Beckman believes the growth of the diocese’s schools is a direct result of the skill, hard work, and faithful service of the school leaders and their faculties.
“One of the most important gifts that we offer young people is the opportunity to be formed in a Catholic-school environment, and I am delighted to witness this growth in student population in our schools throughout the diocese,” Bishop Beckman said.
Public- and private-school leaders and education analysts across Tennessee are busy tracking the enrollment trends as year-over-year trends are coming to light.
As an example, the overall population of Knox County is growing rapidly; however Knox County Schools is projecting a student-enrollment drop of approximately 900 students, according to a report this month in the Knoxville News Sentinel.
Reasons cited for the student population shift include the Education Freedom Scholarships, more families choosing to send their children to private or parochial schools, and the rise in popularity of homeschooling.
Diocese of Knoxville school leaders are understandably excited about the new academic year and what is ahead for the 3,636 students filling their classrooms.
In their words…
First day of school, Notre Dame High School (Photo Cleo Gravitt)
Some of the diocesan school principals and priests serving as chaplains shared their first impressions and outlooks for the new school year.
Eric Schexnaildre, head of school for Notre Dame High School: We’re thrilled with our new students. We’ve got a great freshman class coming in. And we have transfer students who are new to Notre Dame.
This is an important aspect because we want to expose them to the culture we have, who we are, our customs, and our history and traditions. So, we’re really, really excited about all the additions we have. As far as goals, we’re continuing to look at, academically, our ACT scores.
We’re really looking hard into that as far as what we can do to continue to improve our ACT. We’re really excited about our additions to our math department. We’re fortunate to hire two really, really stellar math teachers. Half of a teaching position was due to student enrollment increasing. We had a teacher also retire, so the need was there. We’re very, very fortunate with that. As far as other goals, we’re happy with where our admissions numbers are.
That was a goal of ours two years ago. Right now, we’re at capacity, which is where we want to be, so that’s always a good thing. We actually have a waiting list now. We had a family emergency come up recently, and unfortunately they had to unenroll, but we had three kids on the waiting list. That hasn’t happened in a while at Notre Dame, so we’re happy about that. We’re currently looking at 440 students (enrolled) this year. That’s about where we want to be. We were at 409 last year.”
Dickie Sompayrac, president of Knoxville Catholic High School: We are excited to begin the 2026-2027 school year, and what an incredible start we had on Friday as we welcomed our newest students: the Class of 2030. Their enthusiasm, combined with the incredible energy of our faculty and staff, made for an outstanding first day.
Our theme for this year is from the book of Joshua: “Choose Today Whom You Will Serve” (Joshua 24:15). Our hope is that each of our students will grow in their personal relationship with Jesus. The more we talk to Him, the more we hear Him speaking to us.
Our campus is undergoing an exciting period of growth. Over the next 12 to 14 months, construction will continue on our new auxiliary gymnasium, additional classrooms, new boys and girls locker rooms, and a Hall of Fame room.
I was especially excited that my son, Sam Sompayrac, a seminarian for the Diocese of Knoxville, was with us on Aug 12-13 to speak with our students during their religion classes. Sam offered a reflection on our school theme for the year.
We are looking forward to a tremendous year ahead, and we sincerely thank our parents for entrusting us with their most precious resources.
Joshua Overton, principal of St. Jude School: This is my 17th year at St. Jude. And as school begins, so far so good. We had 100 percent attendance on the first day, which is great. Everybody seemed happy and excited. There are obviously some nerves with (students) moving to different grades and new students. But I think holistically it was a great start.
Our hopes, plans, and prayers for the 2026-27 academic year are, No. 1, teaching to the whole student. We don’t just emphasize academics. We also want them to be good stewards, to go out into the community and be good people. So often we use the term ‘raising scholars and saints.’ And that is really what we try to do.
We are seeing quite a bit of enrollment growth. We are at 388 students. Last year, we ended at 364. And to think that five or six years ago we were at 290. That was right after COVID. So, now we are figuring out where to put these students. We have a waiting list in preschool. Our maximum goal is 400 students. We could take a few more, but we would be intentional there. This is a special place, and I work with the best people on earth. They are really awesome. We’re doing this for the kids and we are doing the Lord’s work. He takes care of the rest.”
Becky Frye, principal of St. Mary School in Johnson City: Each first day of school reminds me why Catholic education is such a blessing. Watching our students walk through the doors filled with excitement, hope, and possibility is a joy. My prayer is that every child who enters St. Mary’s this year knows they are loved, challenged to grow, and encouraged to become the person God created them to be. It is an honor to serve this community as we begin another year, Anchored in Love.
Caroline Flynn, principal of Our Lady of Perpetual Help School: As we think about the ’26-’27 school year, one of the themes that we are embracing for both faculty and our students is this idea of community. We are in our 89th year, approaching the 90th year in 2027. So, everything we do is rooted in our traditions—harnessing those traditions, practicing the spirit of reflection so that we can continue to work together, bringing our community forward for the next 90 years of OLPH.
The first day is a little bit of everything, which is a forecast for the year ahead. So, there are always going to be moments of joy and excitement, moments of nervousness. The best thing that we can do is we get to match those emotions and support those emotions with our wonderful faculty and staff, and it’ll be a great year ahead.
First day of school, Knoxville Catholic High School (Photo Jaclyn Holloway)
We have continued to trend at a 3 percent enrollment increase year over year. And that is continuing. We are not at capacity. We like the just-over-300 mark, and we’re nearly there.
Father Randy Stice, director of worship and liturgy for the Diocese of Knoxville and a chaplain at Knoxville Catholic High School: I give presentations on the Mass during in-service to new faculty, the entire faculty, the freshmen, and for all of the students on the first day of school along with two seniors and Mr. (Dickie) Sompayrac. Each year we pick a theme that is relevant for all students but also is related to an aspect of the Mass. This year the theme is “Choose Today Whom You Will Serve” (Joshua 24:15).
With the faculty and students, I focused on the Mass as the renewal of the new and eternal covenant. Our two seniors spoke about choosing God every day. Bridget Stempkowski said, “Don’t let the stress and chaos of high school pull you away from God; instead, bring it to Him.” Liam Patterson said, “God is happy with the genuine version of you.” I think there is a lot of enthusiasm around the theme of choosing to serve God each day.
Andy Zengel, principal of St. Joseph School: “What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?”—Matthew 16:24.
Saints have been made by hearing this question. I am grateful that my own children and so many others have access to Catholic education, where we can hear the Word of God, receive His sacraments, and be confronted by questions from our Lord like this one. We’re looking forward to another great year at St. Joseph School—full of hope, full of promise, and full of students!
Bonnie Saleh, principal of St. Dominic School: Our first week of school at St. Dominic School has been filled with excitement, joy, and a wonderful sense of community. It has been such a blessing to welcome our students back and see our classrooms and hallways come alive again.
This year, our theme is “Torchbearers: You Are the Light of the World” (Matthew 5:14–16), and we are encouraging our students to carry the light of Christ through their words, actions, and service to others. We are excited for the year ahead and all that God has in store for our St. Dominic family.
Dr. Kelly Mechelke, principal of St. John Neumann School: At SJN we are starting school with hope in our hearts and faith as our guide that school and families will be united having an excellent, faith-filled year of learning and service. “You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.”—Deuteronomy 6:7
Valerie Hanks, principal of Sacred Heart Cathedral School: There is something incredibly special about seeing our students walk through the doors on the first day—the excitement, the smiles, and the joy immediately bring our school back to life.
As we begin this new year at Sacred Heart Cathedral School, I am filled with gratitude and hope for all that lies ahead. Guided by Romans 12:11–12 and our call to serve, hope, endure, and pray, I look forward to watching our students grow in their faith, discover their God-given gifts, and become the people God is calling them to be. I am so grateful for our incredible students, families, faculty, and staff, and I can’t wait to see what God has in store for us this year!
Father A.J. Houston, chaplain at Notre Dame High School: I was on door duty the first day, just saying hi to students as they came in and welcoming them back. This will be my second year. It’s been wonderful. It’s been a wonderful experience to grow in a love for all people. It’s just getting to know students and ministering to everyone.
There’s never a dull day here. There is always something exciting going on, always events and activities. It’s always full of life here. In addition to celebrating Mass and hearing confessions, this year I’m teaching two of the freshman theology classes. And I and another teacher are reviving the choir after many years. It will be exciting. It will be the Irish Vocal Choir.
School-zone speed camera installations underway
Drivers who are traversing roads in the city of Knoxville during school arrival and departure hours may have noticed new traffic cameras have been installed in some school zones.
In May 2025, as part of the city of Knoxville’s Vision Zero initiative and ongoing efforts to improve roadway safety on city streets, Knoxville City Council approved a contract with Blueline Solutions to install automated speed cameras in school zones within Knoxville city limits.
Speed cameras are being installed in 41 school zones across the city and will be active during school drop-off and departure. Once operational, the cameras will capture speeding violations in active school zones that will be reviewed by a KPD officer, with traffic citations being issued.
According to the city of Knoxville, the cameras are expected to be operational around the start of the 2026-27 school year. Motorists are warned to slow down, pay attention, and remain vigilant in active school zones.