Poplar Hill Middle, 3695 Blackman Road: Rutherford County Schools, grades 6-8.

Last checked Oct. 19, 2026. Sources: phm.rcschools.net, Rutherford County Schools and Tennessee Department of Education data files.

Poplar Hill Middle School is the newest Rutherford County Schools (RCS) middle school. It opened in August 2026 for grades 6 to 8 on Blackman Road near Poplar Hill Elementary, outside the city limits northwest of Murfreesboro. The Rutherford County Board of Education redrew every middle school zone to create its attendance area.

Who to call
Address 3695 Blackman Road, Murfreesboro, TN 37129
Phone 615-848-6515
Grades 6 to 8
School day 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
District Rutherford County Schools

Principal

Principal April Sneed, according to the school’s website staff directory.

Enrollment and teachers

Because the school opened in August 2026, it has no state letter grade, test results or federal enrollment count yet. Tennessee’s first results for the school would come from spring 2027 tests.

State report card

Tennessee gives every public school an A-F letter grade each year, explained on the Department of Education’s school letter grades page. The grade combines indicators each scored from 1 to 5: student achievement, academic growth and growth of the highest-need students, plus college and career readiness for high schools.

Tennessee posts each school’s results on the Tennessee State Report Card.

Attendance zone and feeder schools

Check any address on the RCS 2026-27 zone map, linked from the district’s bus routes and school zones page, or call RCS Transportation at 615-893-5815, ext. 22100.

On the district’s 2026-27 zone map, the Poplar Hill Middle zone takes in all of the Poplar Hill Elementary zone, most of the Stewartsboro Elementary zone, part of the Brown’s Chapel Elementary zone and part of the Murfreesboro City Schools area. Students from Murfreesboro City Schools move to a Rutherford County middle school by home address.

Of the Poplar Hill Middle zone, part of it is zoned for Stewarts Creek High, part of it is zoned for Blackman High, part of it is in the Blackman and Siegel High dual zone and part of it is zoned for Smyrna High.

These shares are measured from the district’s map layers; zones follow streets, not city limits, so always check the exact address.

Rezoning: with Poplar Hill Middle opening in August 2026, the Rutherford County Board of Education adopted new zone lines for every middle school on Dec. 11, 2025, effective with the 2026-27 school year. Rising eighth graders enrolled as of that date could stay at their old school if parents provide transportation, according to the district’s 2026-27 rezoning page.

Calendar and bell times

From the RCS 2026-27 academic calendar (revised June 3, 2026):

  • Tuesday: parent-teacher conferences
  • Tuesday, Nov. 3: Election Day, no school for students
  • Nov. 23-27: Thanksgiving break
  • Friday, Dec. 18: two-hour day, end of the second nine weeks
  • Dec. 21 to Jan. 1: winter break; Jan. 4 is an in-service day, and students return Tuesday, Jan. 5
  • March 29 to April 2, 2027: spring break, after Good Friday, March 26
  • Friday, May 28, 2027: last day, a two-hour day

Classes run 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on both of the school’s bell schedules (one for Mini-School A, one for Mini-Schools B and C), according to its bell schedules page.

Sports

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

More on Murfreesboro schools

Frequently asked questions

What grades does Poplar Hill Middle School serve?

Poplar Hill Middle serves grades 6 through 8. It is part of Rutherford County Schools and sits at 3695 Blackman Road, Murfreesboro.

Which high school does Poplar Hill Middle feed into?

On Rutherford County Schools’ 2026-27 zone map, part of the Poplar Hill Middle zone goes to Stewarts Creek High. The rest is split among other high school zones; check your address on the zone map.

What time does Poplar Hill Middle start?

Poplar Hill Middle’s school day runs 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., according to the school’s posted bell schedule.