Skip To Main Content

About Us

Fair Garden Family Center is located in the Board of Education District 1 and KCS Region 5. Fair Garden is the only preschool in this region.  

The school was built in 1916 to serve children grades K-8 in the East Knoxville Burlington Community. Fair Garden now serves three and four year old Title 1 eligible preschoolers. We have four Title 1 PK3 classes, four Title 1 PK4 classes, one blended class, and one VPK class.  

Fair Garden Family Center is committed to providing a nurturing learning environment for all children with individualized opportunities for social, emotional, physical, and academic growth.

Fair Garden Front Entrance
Principal's Headshot Original

 

Principal Tara Howell-Spikes

Tara Howell-Spikes  is a seasoned educator and school leader with more than two decades of experience in various educational roles. She holds an Ed.S. in Educational Leadership from University of Tennessee, Knoxville, earned in 2014, following another Educational Specialist degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Lincoln Memorial University. Principal Spikes also earned a Master of  Education from University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and a Bachelor of Science in Communication and Media Services. 

Principal Spikes began her career in education in 2000 as a teacher at Mount Olive Elementary, where she taught until 2013. She then transitioned to administrative roles, first as an Assistant Principal in the Leadership Academy at A.L. Lotts Elementary for one year, and was placed as Assistant Principal at Cedar Bluff Elementary from 2014 to 2018. She then served as a floating Assistant Principal At Sunnyview Primary and Chilhowee Intermediate School for one year. Principal Spikes has been the principal at Fair Garden from 2019 where she currently serves. The focus is on academic excellence and community engagement.

Email Principal Spikes

"Every child deserves a champion—an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection, and insists that they become the best that they can possibly be."

Staff Directory

Our staff directory provides a comprehensive and easily accessible listing of school and district personnel. Searches can be made by name, job title, or facility location. 

Search Directory

Calendar

Fair Garden Family Center follows an academic calendar approved by the Board of Education that identifies the first and last day of school; student and teacher in-service days; school holidays; and grading periods.

These calendars are detailed by school year.

See Calendar