Bristol

Welcome to Bristol, TN, a growing city in the heart of Tennessee's beautiful mountains. From natural beauty to art and boutiques in our thriving downtown, from fine dining to one of NASCAR's premier race tracks, Bristol has something for everyone! The city is located in Sullivan County, Tennessee, United States. It's home to an estimated 27,000 people. Bristol is probably best known for being the site of some of the first commercial recordings of country music, showcasing Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family, and later a favorite venue of mountain musician Uncle Charlie Osborne. The U.S. Congress recognized Bristol as the "Birthplace of Country Music" in 1998, and the Birthplace of Country Music Museum is located in Bristol. It also is the birthplace of Tennessee Ernie Ford. Bristol boasts of being the home of Bristol Motor Speedway, a NASCAR short track that is one of the most well-known motorsports facilities in the country.

Bristol Tennessee City Schools

Bristol Tennessee City Schools is comprised of eight schools ranging from PK-12. Our student population is just over 4,000 students enrolled among five elementary schools, a single middle school, one brick-and-mortar high school, and a virtual high school. BTCS has a student-teacher ratio of 16 to 1. According to state test scores, 41% of students are at least proficient in math and 40% in reading.

Bristol’s famous sign says “A Good Place to Live,” and it certainly is a great place to live and learn! In our district, we are focused on providing the best educational experience possible for students to prepare them for their futures.

One way we are doing this is by pursuing personalized learning through a digital conversion effort, which in the current phase includes laptops for all 4th-12th graders to use at school and home. By doing so, we offer students an educational platform they can use anytime and anywhere to do relevant activities based on their own interests using the same electronic tools professionals use every day.

Whether you are Bristol born and raised, are a transplant who now calls Bristol home, or have just moved to our beautiful city, you are wanted and needed as part of our family here at Bristol Tennessee City Schools. By working together to achieve our shared goals, we can foster a culture of education in our community that accepts nothing less than excellence from and for our children.

Higher Education

King University establishes students in a robust liberal arts foundation and offers specialization in a contemporary range of undergraduate degrees. These include Nursing, Security and Intelligence Studies, Exercise Science, and Digital Media Art & Design, as well as more traditional majors such as Mathematics, History and Political science, English, Biology, and more.

Undergraduates have the opportunity to engage in a variety of real-world economic and scientific research opportunities, and to interact with prominent voices examining the intersection of faith and culture. On-campus and online learning programs are available, plus a dual degree program in Engineering. Graduate and Professional offerings include master’s degrees in nursing, business and education, and a doctoral degree in nursing practice.

The value of the school’s educational environment has been recognized by U.S. News & World Report, which has named King a Best Regional University in the South for nearly 30 consecutive years. King has also been recognized by the Brookings Institution, which in 2016 ranked the University third in Tennessee for preparing students for high-paying careers.
King’s main campus resides on 135 scenic acres in Bristol, Tennessee. University-centered athletic opportunities include membership on one of 28 teams competing in the NCAA Division II and Conference Carolinas or participation in on-campus leagues and groups sponsored by King’s Student Life group. Additionally, Bristol is officially recognized as the Birthplace of Country Music, and the Tri-Cities area features a wealth of live music, including the nationally known Rhythm and Roots Reunion weekend festival. Students can also enjoy concerts, races, and sporting events at nearby Bristol Motor Speedway, along with outdoor pursuits, such as hiking, biking, fishing, skiing, and exploring the Blue Ridge and the Smoky Mountains.

East Tennessee State University is home to approximately 14,500 students. It offers 112 undergraduate and 75 master’s programs, including one of the country’s select few fully accredited graduate programs in storytelling. It also is the only four-year university in the world with a comprehensive bluegrass music program. ETSU also boasts a College of Pharmacy and the James H. Quillen College of Medicine. With a high-performing public school system and higher learning facilities to meet most anyone’s needs, education is key in East Tennessee.

Northeast State Community College is a comprehensive two-year community college under the governance of the Tennessee Board of Regents of the State University and Community College System of Tennessee. Northeast State provides university parallel programs designed for students desiring to transfer to another college or university, career programs for students planning to enter the workforce immediately upon graduation, and continuing education and community service programs for professional growth and personal enrichment to the citizens of Carter, Johnson, Sullivan, Unicoi and Washington counties. Although the main campus is located in Blountville, Tennessee, Northeast State has a satellite facility located at 101 E. Market St., in Johnson city's downtown area. The entrance to the facility's parking garage is located off Buffalo Street.

Milligan University has educated men and women to lead and to serve for over 150 years. Our commitment to Christ-centered liberal arts education has led Milligan to become a growing, well-respected liberal arts institution. Because of our emphasis on scholarship, community, and faith, students come from all over the world to experience our distinctively different approach to higher education.

Milligan offers more than 100 majors, minors, pre-professional degrees, and concentrations in a variety of fields, along with graduate and adult degree completion programs. Consistently recognized for quality and value, Milligan has been recently ranked by U.S. News and World Report as one of the best regional universities in the South for quality and value; named one of Washington Monthly’s top 20 master’s universities in the nation; and in 2016, listed as the No. 2 best universities in Tennessee by BestColleges.com.







Ballad Health is Leading the charge in the medical industry in the Tri-Cities. Ballad is an integrated healthcare system serving 29 counties of Northeast Tennessee, Southwest Virginia, Northwest North Carolina, and Southeast Kentucky. Their system was created to improve the health of the people they serve. Ballad Health operates a family of 21 hospitals, including three tertiary medical centers, a dedicated children’s hospital, community hospitals, three critical access hospitals, a behavioral health hospital, an addiction treatment facility, long-term care facilities, home care, and hospice services, retail pharmacies, outpatient services, and a comprehensive medical management corporation.

Bristol Regional Medical Since opening our facility in 1994, Bristol Regional Medical Center has served the community through superior quality care, technological innovation, and compassion. Bristol Regional continues to be recognized among the nation’s best hospitals. The cardiovascular team at Bristol Regional provides award-winning heart attack response times. In a heart attack, getting a patient into treatment quickly is critical. To accomplish our fast treatment times, we’ve developed the Level One Heart Attack Network (which is unique in our region) and offer 24/7 cardiac cath labs and cardiac surgery support, as well as dedicated stroke care services (Ballad Health).

There are many walk-in clinics and specialty facilities to suit your medical needs





You can't go to Bristol, Tennessee without exploring the beautiful and majestic Bristol Caverns! Far below the earth's surface, in the timeless beauty of Bristol Caverns, a strange and exciting experience awaits you. Paved, well-lighted walkways wind through the vaulted chambers and along the banks of the ancient Underground River that carved these remarkable caverns from the hard core of the earth 200 to 400 million years ago. In the frontier days, Indians used the Underground River as an attack and escape route in their raids on settlers. Stealing into the area by way of the Underground River and the caverns, they swooped down on unsuspecting families, then disappeared as if swallowed up by the earth.






If you are looking for a fun day out for you or the family we recommend visiting The Pinnacle where you can shop, dine, and play! The Pinnacle is located in Bristol, TN. Thousands of people travel from the surrounding areas to visit The Pinnacle. Wanna shop local? Bristol has a number of places to visit. Click here to shop local.