Pelham City

The Pelham City school district serves approximately 3,444 students across four schools in grades PK-12, holding a 4-star rating and ranking 42nd out of 139 Alabama districts. The district includes two elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school, all of which outperform the state average in chronic absenteeism and English language arts proficiency.

Pelham High School is the district's academic leader, earning a 4-star rating with an 84th percentile rank statewide. It boasts a 95.8% graduation rate and outperforms state averages across all subjects, including a remarkable 12.9 percentage point jump in 11th-grade math proficiency in a single year. Pelham Ridge stands out for its exceptional attendance, with only 4.0% chronic absenteeism—three times better than the state average. Pelham Oaks performs comparably to Pelham Ridge despite serving a higher percentage of economically disadvantaged students, suggesting effective support programs. Pelham Park Middle School shows strong science and English scores but reveals a concerning progressive decline in math proficiency, dropping from near state averages in 6th grade to 14.6% proficiency in 8th grade—nearly 12 points below the state average.

District-wide, English language arts is a clear strength, with all grade levels exceeding state averages, and science proficiency is consistently strong across all schools. However, every school has seen its statewide ranking decline over the past three years, with Pelham Oaks experiencing the most significant drop from the 70th to 55th percentile. Resource allocation favors secondary education, with Pelham High receiving $2,210 more per student than Pelham Ridge. While the high school's attendance rate of 11.1% is better than the state average, it remains notably higher than the elementary schools, suggesting a need for stronger engagement strategies at the secondary level. The district's overall performance remains solid, but the declining rankings and middle school math gap warrant strategic attention.