Best Public Schools in Irondale, AL

Summary:

The city of Irondale, Alabama is home to three schools: Shades Valley High School, Irondale Middle School, and Irondale Community School, all of which serve students in the Jefferson County school district.

Among the three schools, Shades Valley High School stands out as the top performer, ranking 59th out of 371 Alabama high schools and earning a 4-star rating from SchoolDigger. The school boasts a strong 90.0% 4-year graduation rate and outperforms the district and state averages in 11th-grade proficiency for math, science, and English. In contrast, Irondale Middle School and Irondale Community School struggle with math proficiency, scoring significantly below the district and state averages.

While Irondale Community School has the highest spending per student at $11,864, it performs better than the other schools in 3rd-5th grade English proficiency. However, all three schools share a concerning chronic absenteeism rate of 14.8%, which may be an area requiring further attention and intervention.

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
Irondale Community School	Public	PK, KG-5	225 16th St S	Irondale	35210	Jefferson County	Jefferson County	No	No	No	Yes	(205) 379-4200	435	26	16.8	71.7%	62 (14.3%)	158 (36.3%)	204 (46.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (2.5%)	23.5	518^th of 680 public elementary schools	23.8%		24.2	519^th of 684 public elementary schools	24.1%	1	14.6	22.5	22.4					26.3			39.0	44.9	66.1					$11,864	$2,559	$9,278
Shades Valley High School	Public	9-12	6100 Old Leeds Rd	Irondale	35210	Jefferson County	Jefferson County	No	No	No	No	(205) 379-5350	1,094	65	16.8	54.7%	200 (18.3%)	570 (52.1%)	280 (25.6%)	8 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	35 (3.2%)	62.9	119^th of 374 public high schools	68.2%		68.9	85^th of 378 public high schools	77.5%	34							28.6			30.9							28.9	$9,072	$539	$8,510
Irondale Middle School	Public	6-8	6200 Old Leeds Road	Irondale	35210	Jefferson County	Jefferson County	No	No	No	Yes	(205) 379-3800	430	27	15.9	74.7%	37 (8.6%)	227 (52.8%)	150 (34.9%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (3.5%)	17.6	372^nd of 439 public middle schools	15.3%		14.7	378^th of 442 public middle schools	14.5%	6				7.1	2.6	1.3			20.0					42.2	39.3	38.3		$9,209	$1,936	$7,250

Cities Near Irondale

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Birmingham	1.89 mi	76	251^st
Mountain Brook	2.8 mi	6	1^st
Vestavia	4.36 mi	2	2^nd
Vestavia Hills	4.37 mi	7	5^th
Trussville	5.4 mi	6	40^th

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.