South Hampton K8

South Hampton K8 is a PK-8 school in the Pratt City neighborhood of Birmingham, AL, serving 511 students as part of the Birmingham City district. This school has shown one of the most remarkable turnarounds in the state, climbing from the very bottom of Alabama's rankings a decade ago to now sit in the 29th percentile statewide—a jump of nearly 200 positions.

The standout feature here is the exceptional 3rd grade program. In the most recent school year, 89% of 3rd graders were proficient in English and 72% in math—nearly double and triple the district averages, respectively. This performance rivals that of Princeton School, the top-performing school in the area, and far exceeds nearby schools like Hemphill Elementary School and Charles A Brown Elementary School. However, there is a dramatic drop-off after 3rd grade—math proficiency falls from 72% to just 12% in 4th grade, a pattern that has persisted for several years. This suggests the early grades have a highly effective approach that hasn't yet been replicated in upper grades.

On the positive side, the school has made impressive strides in attendance, cutting chronic absenteeism from 27% to 11%—now better than both district and state averages. It also showed particularly strong results with its African American students in 2024-2025, ranking in the top 21% of Alabama schools serving that population. The school serves a high-poverty community (79% free/reduced lunch) and has seen its student-teacher ratio rise to 19.6:1, which is higher than nearby Princeton School's 13:1. While 8th grade science scores recently exceeded the district average, the main challenge ahead is translating the remarkable early elementary success into sustained achievement through middle school.