Morris Middle School

Morris Middle School in Huntsville, AL, serves 397 students in grades 6-8 and is part of the Huntsville City district, where about 74% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch.

The most encouraging news for parents is the school's dramatic turnaround in attendance. Chronic absenteeism has plummeted from 25.6% in 2021-2022 to just 3.8% in 2024-2025—far better than the district average of 8.2% and the state average of 12.0%. This suggests the school has implemented highly effective initiatives to get kids to class. Morris also shows real strengths with specific student groups. English Language Learners rank in the 72nd percentile statewide (up from the 27th percentile two years ago), and Special Education students rank in the 68th percentile. Hispanic students have shown one of the most dramatic improvements in the state, jumping from the 6th to the 68th percentile in just two years. These gains indicate that targeted support programs are working well for many learners.

However, mathematics remains a significant challenge. Only 5.6% of 8th graders and 12.2% of 6th graders are proficient in math, compared to roughly 27-30% district-wide. English Language Arts is comparatively stronger, with 44% of 8th graders proficient, and 8th grade science has improved sharply from 8.7% to 38.7% proficiency in two years. When compared to nearby schools, Morris sits in the middle tier of Huntsville City middle schools—outperforming Chapman Middle School and Ronald McNair 78, but trailing Williams Middle School and the district's magnet schools. It's worth noting that nearby Journey Middle School and Discovery Middle School in Madison City have much higher math scores, but they also serve a significantly more affluent population (26-27% free/reduced lunch). Morris appears to be at a pivotal moment—attendance and support programs are clearly improving, but closing the math achievement gap will be the key focus in the years ahead.