Summary:
Lafayette, Alabama is served by two public schools within the Chambers County district: Lafayette Eastside Elementary School (grades PK–8) and Lafayette High School (grades 7–12), with no standalone middle school and an unusual overlap in grades 7–8. Both schools serve a high-poverty community, with roughly 77% of elementary and 82% of high school students qualifying for free or reduced lunch.
Lafayette Eastside is the stronger of the two schools, ranking in the 23rd percentile statewide with a 1-star rating, up from the 10th percentile a few years ago. English is a relative bright spot, with proficiency averaging around 50% in grades 3–6, but math is a serious concern: only about 17% of students are proficient, and 5th grade math proficiency has been as low as 4–8%. Lafayette High School, by contrast, ranks in the 7th percentile with 0 stars. Its 11th grade proficiency rates are alarmingly low—4.44% in math, 6.67% in English, and 11.11% in science—meaning most students are leaving school without college or career-ready skills. The high school does have a smaller student-teacher ratio (13.6:1) and higher spending per student ($12,715) than Eastside, but that has not translated into better outcomes.
Chronic absenteeism is above the district average at both schools (13.4% at Eastside, 12.0% at Lafayette High, compared to 8.7% districtwide), likely contributing to low proficiency. While Lafayette High’s graduation rate is 84.6%, that figure masks how far behind students are academically. The district as a whole ranks 110th out of 139 in Alabama. The data suggests that urgent, targeted help in math, along with attendance improvement and early intervention before 5th grade, is needed to change the trajectory for students in this area.
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