Summary:
The city of Daphne, Alabama, is served by the Baldwin County School District and is home to 7 public schools—3 elementary, 2 middle, and 2 high schools—serving roughly 5,900 students from Pre-K through 12th grade. Overall, this is a high-performing area within Alabama, with every school outpacing state averages in most subjects, though there are notable differences in performance and challenges across the grade levels.
For parents, the standout is Daphne High School, ranked 19th in the state with exceptional test scores—English proficiency is nearly 26 points above the state average—and a strong 88.7% graduation rate. The Baldwin County Virtual School is also a top-50 high school with nearly zero chronic absenteeism, but its 74.7% graduation rate is a red flag. Among elementary schools, Belforest Elementary leads with a top-100 state ranking and stellar 5th-grade English scores, while Daphne East Elementary posts the highest 3rd-grade math proficiency (68%) despite moderate poverty levels. Daphne Elementary and W J Carroll Intermediate serve higher-poverty populations and show slightly lower scores, though they still beat state averages.
The biggest concern is the "math cliff" at the middle school level. Daphne Middle School has just 32.9% of 7th graders proficient in math—a dramatic drop from the 52-68% seen in elementary schools—and it also has the highest student-teacher ratio (18.1) in the city. Meanwhile, Daphne High School stands out for the wrong reason on attendance: its 15.3% chronic absenteeism rate is more than double any other school in Daphne and exceeds both district and state averages. Despite this, the high school maintains excellent academics, suggesting high-achieving students may be masking the issue. For parents, the takeaway is clear: elementary education is strong, high school is exceptional, but middle school math and high school attendance are areas to watch closely.
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