Homewood City

Homewood City Schools is a top-ranked Alabama district of 5 schools serving roughly 4,492 students in the Birmingham suburb of Homewood, offering a cohesive K-12 pipeline that consistently outperforms state averages across every subject and grade level.

The district’s crown jewel is Homewood High School, ranked #5 in Alabama (99th percentile) with a 93.7% graduation rate and proficiency rates that more than double state averages in English (73% vs. 34%), math (63% vs. 27%), and science (64% vs. 36%). Among elementary schools, Shades Cahaba Elementary School is the rising star, jumping 13 spots to #13 in the state with the district’s highest 5th-grade math (82%) and English (97%) scores, despite having the smallest enrollment. Edgewood Elementary School is the consistent performer, ranked #16 with the single highest subject proficiency in the district (98% in 5th-grade English) and the lowest chronic absenteeism at just 2.8%. Homewood Middle School shows strong science (87%) and English (87%) results but reveals a concerning 12-point math decline from 6th to 8th grade (74% down to 62%).

The clear outlier is Hall Kent Elementary School, ranked #115 in the state with a 4-star rating while every other school earns 5 stars. Its 5th-grade math proficiency (52%) trails Shades Cahaba by 30 points, and it has the district’s highest free/reduced lunch rate (36%)—nearly triple Edgewood’s. Despite this, Hall Kent still exceeds state averages, and the district’s overall advantage compounds through the grades, with high school scores running 28-39 points above state norms. All schools maintain excellent attendance (district average 5.3% chronic absenteeism vs. 12% statewide), and interestingly, Edgewood achieves elite results with the lowest per-student spending ($10,200), suggesting socioeconomic factors play a larger role than funding in this already exceptional system.