Best Public Schools in Florence, AL

Summary:

The city of Florence, Alabama is home to 15 schools across two school districts - Florence City and Lauderdale County. The schools include 8 elementary, 2 middle, 4 high, and 1 alternative school, serving students from kindergarten through 12th grade.

Among the standout schools in the area is Kilby Laboratory School, an elementary school that consistently ranks among the top in the state with exceptional test scores and a low free/reduced lunch rate. Florence High School is the top-performing high school in the Florence City District, with strong graduation rates and test scores exceeding state and district averages. Another strong performer is Forest Hills School, an elementary school ranking in the top 20% of Alabama elementary schools.

The data reveals disparities in performance between the highest and lowest-ranked schools, with the schools serving higher-poverty populations tending to have lower test scores and rankings. The Florence City District overall outperforms the Lauderdale County District, suggesting differences in funding, resources, or other factors. Middle school performance is more mixed, with scores closer to state averages, indicating room for improvement at that level. Addressing these inequities and ensuring all students have access to quality education will be crucial for the district moving forward.

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				Summative Assessment Mathematics (2025)							Summative Assessment Science (2025)			Summative Assessment English (2025)							Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	Summative Assessment Mathematics 3rd Grade	Summative Assessment Mathematics 4th Grade	Summative Assessment Mathematics 5th Grade	Summative Assessment Mathematics 6th Grade	Summative Assessment Mathematics 7th Grade	Summative Assessment Mathematics 8th Grade	Summative Assessment Mathematics 11th Grade	Summative Assessment Science 4th Grade	Summative Assessment Science 8th Grade	Summative Assessment Science 11th Grade	Summative Assessment English 3rd Grade	Summative Assessment English 4th Grade	Summative Assessment English 5th Grade	Summative Assessment English 6th Grade	Summative Assessment English 7th Grade	Summative Assessment English 8th Grade	Summative Assessment English 11th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Florence High School	Public	10-12	1201 Bradshaw Dr	Florence	35630	Lauderdale County	Florence City	No	No	No	No	(256) 768-2200	1,101	63	17.5	49.8%	503 (45.7%)	295 (26.8%)	181 (16.4%)	19 (1.7%)	2 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	101 (9.2%)	81.9	55^th of 374 public high schools	85.3%		74.6	69^th of 378 public high schools	81.7%	14							31.6			41.5							42.5	$13,080	$938	$12,044
Florence Freshman Center	Public, Alternative	9	1203 Bradshaw Drive	Florence	35630	Lauderdale County	Florence City	No	No	No	No	(256) 768-2400	325	20	16.4	55.1%	148 (45.5%)	84 (25.8%)	45 (13.8%)	5 (1.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	43 (13.2%)								(n/a)																		$9,746	$236	$9,487
Forest Hills School	Public	K-5	101 Stovall Dr	Florence	35633	Lauderdale County	Florence City	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 768-2500	906	63	14.3	46.6%	596 (65.8%)	151 (16.7%)	56 (6.2%)	4 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	99 (10.9%)	80.4	116^th of 680 public elementary schools	82.9%		74.8	159^th of 684 public elementary schools	76.8%	43	59.7	60.8	59.6					50.7			82.6	73.6	78.7					$10,545	$1,336	$9,186
Harlan Elementary School	Public	K-5	2233 McBurney Dr	Florence	35630	Lauderdale County	Florence City	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 768-2700	426	36	11.7	84.7%	120 (28.2%)	196 (46.0%)	19 (4.5%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	88 (20.7%)	45.2	390^th of 680 public elementary schools	42.6%		46.7	376^th of 684 public elementary schools	45.0%	14	20.0	35.8	60.0					30.9			55.6	50.8	76.0					$13,932	$2,610	$11,298
Weeden Elementary School	Public	K-5	400 Baldwin Street	Florence	35630	Lauderdale County	Florence City	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 768-2900	477	32	15.1	84.3%	96 (20.1%)	144 (30.2%)	190 (39.8%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	45 (9.4%)	50.6	351^st of 680 public elementary schools	48.4%		56.4	301^st of 684 public elementary schools	56.0%	50	49.4	50.0	37.0					30.8			59.7	52.0	70.4					$14,455	$2,668	$11,763
Florence Middle School	Public	7-8	648 North Cherry	Florence	35630	Lauderdale County	Florence City	No	No	No	No	(256) 768-3100	663	38	17.2	55.7%	265 (40.0%)	210 (31.7%)	102 (15.4%)	7 (1.1%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	78 (11.8%)	60.6	148^th of 439 public middle schools	66.3%		71.2	95^th of 442 public middle schools	78.5%	53					28.6	27.2			49.1						53.0	52.4		$12,862	$962	$11,877
Florence Learning Center	Public	6-12	610 W College St	Florence	35630	Lauderdale County	Florence City	No	No	No	No	(256) 768-3022																			(n/a)
Hibbett Elementary School	Public	K-6	1601 Appleby Blvd	Florence	35630	Lauderdale County	Florence City	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 768-2800	489	37	13.3	70.8%	184 (37.6%)	157 (32.1%)	79 (16.2%)	8 (1.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	61 (12.5%)								(n/a)	54.6	28.0	28.6	41.4				24.0			56.5	48.0	60.7	51.6				$9,663	$1,495	$8,145
Kilby Laboratory School	Public	PK, KG-6	611 N Pine St	Florence	35632	Lauderdale County	Florence City	No	No	No	No	(256) 765-4303	187			11.2%	141 (75.4%)	22 (11.8%)	4 (2.1%)	6 (3.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (7.5%)	95.3	12^th of 680 public elementary schools	98.2%		91.4	41^st of 684 public elementary schools	94.0%	29	79.0	68.4	82.1	60.7				79.0			100.0	84.2	92.9	92.9
Central High School	Public	7-12	3000 County Road 200	Florence	35633	Lauderdale County	Lauderdale County	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 764-2903	596	38	15.6	45.1%	537 (90.1%)	23 (3.9%)	25 (4.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	10 (1.7%)	54	160^th of 374 public high schools	57.2%		32.4	255^th of 378 public high schools	32.5%	95					26.2	30.1	13.7		45.6	30.5					65.5	65.7	34.4	$9,997	$1,140	$8,851
Rogers High School	Public	7-12	300 Rogers Ln	Florence	35634	Lauderdale County	Lauderdale County	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 757-3106	510	32	15.9	36.5%	477 (93.5%)	6 (1.2%)	7 (1.4%)	3 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (3.3%)	50.2	178^th of 374 public high schools	52.4%		36.3	236^th of 378 public high schools	37.6%	58					24.6	9.3	12.0		37.2	33.7					63.2	49.4	27.8	$9,430	$1,076	$8,347
Underwood Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	4725 Highway 157	Florence	35633	Lauderdale County	Lauderdale County	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 764-8939	343	22	15.7	46.9%	310 (90.4%)	13 (3.8%)	2 (0.6%)	1 (0.3%)	5 (1.5%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (3.5%)	66.1	223^rd of 680 public elementary schools	67.2%		68.3	204^th of 684 public elementary schools	70.2%	19	59.5	51.4	62.9	30.3				29.7			81.0	62.2	71.4	66.7				$10,792	$1,963	$8,818
Wilson High School	Public	7-12	7601 Highway 17	Florence	35634	Lauderdale County	Lauderdale County	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 764-8470	585	37	15.7	48.2%	555 (94.9%)	8 (1.4%)	5 (0.9%)	5 (0.9%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (1.7%)	67	105^th of 374 public high schools	71.9%		37.2	234^th of 378 public high schools	38.1%	129					15.2	16.1	20.2		35.4	38.5					54.3	51.8	35.8	$8,825	$1,150	$7,668
Central Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	3000 County Road 200	Florence	35633	Lauderdale County	Lauderdale County	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(256) 764-2903	713	41	17.2	43.8%	638 (89.5%)	23 (3.2%)	24 (3.4%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	25 (3.5%)	52	341^st of 680 public elementary schools	49.9%		64.3	226^th of 684 public elementary schools	67.0%	115	59.1	47.2	23.7	22.3				36.8			75.3	58.5	67.0	52.1
Rogers Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	300 Rogers Lane	Florence	35634	Lauderdale County	Lauderdale County	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(256) 757-3106	592	30	19.7	47.3%	551 (93.1%)	3 (0.5%)	19 (3.2%)	3 (0.5%)	3 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (2.2%)	52.1	339^th of 680 public elementary schools	50.1%		50.7	344^th of 684 public elementary schools	49.7%	5	48.9	41.1	36.4	24.3				38.4			64.1	56.2	78.8	54.4
Wilson Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	7601 Highway 17	Florence	35634	Lauderdale County	Lauderdale County	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(256) 764-8470	552	31	18.0	49.8%	508 (92.0%)	13 (2.4%)	13 (2.4%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (2.9%)	63.4	243^rd of 680 public elementary schools	64.3%		41.1	424^th of 684 public elementary schools	38.0%	181	55.0	53.6	28.2	46.2				44.3			73.3	60.0	71.8	62.8

Cities Near Florence

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Sheffield	3.61 mi	4	259^th
Muscle Shoals	4.8 mi	7	18^th
Tuscumbia	5.96 mi	9	104^th
Killen	7.93 mi	3	34^th
Leighton	10.79 mi	3	192^nd

See the top AL Alabama cities

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Alabama State Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.