Summary:
MAEF Public Charter Schools contains a single high school, Acceleration Day and Evening Academy, serving grades 9-12 in Mobile, AL, with 513 students and a high-poverty population where 83% qualify for free or reduced lunch.
This school presents a striking contrast between attendance and academics. Chronic absenteeism is just 6.3%—half the state average of 12%—and the graduation rate of 91.8% slightly exceeds Alabama's 91.5%. Students are clearly showing up and staying through to graduation. However, proficiency rates are critically low: only 4.39% of students are proficient in math (state: 27.21%), 8.77% in science (state: 36.17%), and 12.5% in English (state: 33.73%). The school ranks 347th out of 380 Alabama high schools, down from 327th the prior year, indicating a declining trajectory relative to peers. The student-teacher ratio is 21.3:1, and the most recent spending data (2018-2019) shows $9,373 per student.
For parents, the key takeaway is that this school excels at keeping students engaged and enrolled—a significant achievement given its high-needs population—but struggles to translate that engagement into grade-level academic mastery on standardized tests. The school's name suggests it serves non-traditional students, possibly those needing credit recovery or flexible schedules, which may explain the focus on completion over test performance. The low absenteeism and strong graduation rate indicate a supportive environment, but the very low proficiency scores suggest that students may graduate without being fully prepared for college-level coursework. The lack of recent spending and dropout data makes it difficult to assess current resources or attrition trends. Overall, this is a school that prioritizes student support and persistence, but families should be aware that academic proficiency is well below state averages and has been declining in recent years.
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