Whitworth-Buchanan Middle, 5555 Manchester Pike: Rutherford County Schools, grades 6-8, 755 students (2024-25), state grade A.
Last checked Oct. 19, 2026. Sources: wbm.rcschools.net, Rutherford County Schools, Tennessee Department of Education data files and the NCES school directory.
Whitworth-Buchanan Middle School is a Rutherford County Schools (RCS) middle school for grades 6 to 8 on Manchester Pike in southeast Murfreesboro, about a mile north of Buchanan Elementary.
Who to call
- Front office: 615-904-6765, 5555 Manchester Pike, Murfreesboro, TN 37127
- School website: wbm.rcschools.net
- Enrolling: the RCS registration page; district office 615-893-5812, 2240 Southpark Drive
- Zone questions: RCS Transportation, 615-893-5815, ext. 22100; buses 615-895-8656
| Address | 5555 Manchester Pike, Murfreesboro, TN 37127 |
| Phone | 615-904-6765 |
| Grades | 6 to 8 |
| School day | 7:59 a.m. to 2:50 p.m. (Schedule A) |
| District | Rutherford County Schools |
| State letter grade, 2024-25 | A |
Principal
Principal Chris Butner, according to the school’s website staff directory.
Enrollment and teachers
- Federal count: 762 students in the 2023-24 school year, with 58 full-time-equivalent teachers, according to the NCES directory. That works out to about 13 students per teacher.
- State count: 755 students in the 2024-25 school year, in the Tennessee Department of Education’s school profile file.
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.
Whitworth-Buchanan Middle earned an A for 2024-25, the latest grades published, with an overall score of 5 out of 5 in the state’s letter grade file.
| Indicator | Score (1 to 5) |
|---|---|
| Achievement | 5 |
| Growth | 5 |
| Growth of highest-need students | 5 |
| Overall success rate, all students, 2024-25 tests | 47.6% |
Spring 2026 TCAP tests (share of students who met or exceeded expectations, from the state’s 2026 school assessment file):
| Subject | Met or exceeded | Valid tests |
|---|---|---|
| English language arts | 42.3% | 735 |
| Math | 56.1% | 693 |
| Science | 51.4% | 736 |
| Social studies | 60.7% | 735 |
| Algebra I | More than 95% | 44 |
The full report, with chronic absence, subgroup results and more, is 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 Whitworth-Buchanan Middle zone takes in all of the Buchanan Elementary zone, all of the Kittrell Elementary zone, most of the Plainview 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 Whitworth-Buchanan Middle zone, most of it is zoned for Riverdale High, part of it is in the Riverdale and Oakland High dual zone and part of it is zoned for Oakland 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
The school posts two bell schedules: Schedule A runs 7:59 a.m. to 2:50 p.m. and Schedule B runs 8:02 a.m. to 2:50 p.m., according to its bell schedule (PDF).
Sports
The school’s athletics page lists archery, baseball, boys and girls basketball, basketball cheerleading, cross country, football, football and competition cheerleading, golf, boys and girls soccer, softball, track and field and volleyball.
More on Murfreesboro schools
- The school’s website and the Rutherford County Schools website
- Every public school in Murfreesboro, with zones and state grades
- Our Murfreesboro schools guide for calendars, enrollment and school board meetings
- Our neighborhood guides, which name the zoned schools for each part of the city
Frequently asked questions
What grades does Whitworth-Buchanan Middle School serve?
Whitworth-Buchanan Middle serves grades 6 through 8. It is part of Rutherford County Schools and sits at 5555 Manchester Pike, Murfreesboro.
What is Whitworth-Buchanan Middle School’s state letter grade?
Whitworth-Buchanan Middle earned an A in Tennessee’s 2024-25 school letter grades, with an overall score of 5 out of 5.
Which high school does Whitworth-Buchanan Middle feed into?
On Rutherford County Schools’ 2026-27 zone map, most of the Whitworth-Buchanan Middle zone goes to Riverdale High. The rest is split among other high school zones; check your address on the zone map.
What time does Whitworth-Buchanan Middle start?
Whitworth-Buchanan Middle’s school day runs 7:59 a.m. to 2:50 p.m. (Schedule A), according to the school’s posted bell schedule.
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