In the early 60’s LouL Tate and her husband, Joe, moved to Knoxville from Arkansas. As teachers, both LouL and Joe became involved in education upon settling into a small rancher in West Hills. With two little girls about to enter preschool, it didn’t take LouL long to realize she was not satisfied with the educational alternatives in the area at the time.

With little available money, LouL had to figure out how to create the school she envisioned in her mind. As it turned out, the area church she and her family attended, Erin Presbyterian Church, had just completed adding additional space but did not have any furniture for the new rooms. LouL approached the church and asked if she could provide furniture, could she use the 3 rooms as a preschool and kindergarten. The church said yes. Upon getting approval, she then approached a school office supply company and told them that she had space – but no furniture. The store agreed to give her the necessary furniture on credit.

The year was 1968 when Tate’s School, operating from a local church, first began teaching. Aside from the family’s two daughters, which later became three daughters, and several children from the congregation, the school began with a handful of students. To get the word out about the school, LouL and Joe would put the two girls in their car seats after dinner and drive area neighborhoods putting flyers in mailboxes. It wasn’t long before Tate’s School began to flourish.

Along the way, LouL and Joe began to buy property that would eventually become a full-fledged school campus. From humble beginnings in an ancillary room in a church to a sprawling 54-acre campus adjacent to Cedar Bluff and Bob Gray Roads in west Knoxville, Tate’s School now provides education for children ages pre-K through eighth grade.

A team of fully credentialed teachers, state accreditation, eager students, involved parents, caring staff, challenging curriculum, art, music, three saltwater swimming pools, library, open-air classrooms, teaching garden, athletic and dining hall, driving range, fabrication lab, playgrounds, pond, and other amenities all blend together to create an environment of inspiration and positive challenges where children are taught how to excel and what it means to have character. Tate’s School is the realization of educational excellence that LouL imagined from the beginning – and dedicated a lifetime to bring into existence.