Summary:
Atmore, Alabama, is served by a single middle school, Escambia County Middle School, which educates students in grades 6 through 8 within the Escambia County district.
For parents, the most important takeaway is that this school is facing significant academic challenges, particularly in mathematics. In the most recent school year, only about 1 in 20 sixth graders and 1 in 21 seventh graders were proficient in math, a rate roughly five to seven times worse than the state average. English Language Arts performance is notably stronger, with 50% of eighth graders proficient, which is only about 8 points below the state average. The school also struggles with chronic absenteeism, with 31.6% of students missing significant school days—more than double the state average of 12%. This high rate of absenteeism is likely a major factor in the low test scores. The student-teacher ratio is 17.3, slightly above the national average, and nearly 90% of students receive free or reduced lunch, indicating a high-poverty population.
Overall, Escambia County Middle School has consistently ranked in the bottom 20% of Alabama middle schools over the past three years, earning a 1-star rating. The severe math deficiency is the most urgent issue, while English scores offer a relative bright spot to build upon. Performance has also been volatile year-to-year, suggesting a lack of a stable instructional program. The most recent spending data is from 2018-2019, showing $9,212 per student, but this is outdated. Parents should be aware that the school is in urgent need of comprehensive intervention, especially in math, and that high absenteeism is a systemic problem that will require community-wide effort to address.
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