Southlawn Middle School

Southlawn Middle School in Montgomery, AL, serves 494 students in grades 6-8 and is part of the Montgomery County school district, which currently holds a 1-star rating. The school has consistently ranked in the bottom 1-3% of Alabama's 440+ middle schools for over a decade, and 86% of its students qualify for free or reduced lunch.

Academic proficiency rates at Southlawn are critically low. In math, 6th grade proficiency is 0%, 7th grade is 1.82%, and 8th grade is 3.65%—dramatically below state averages of 35.22%, 24.46%, and 26.36% respectively. English Language Arts scores are better but still far behind, with 6th grade at 15.75% proficiency compared to the state average of 56.77%. Chronic absenteeism has also been a challenge, spiking to 45.2% in 2023-2024 before settling at 33.2% in 2024-2025—nearly three times the state average. The school's relative strength is its English Language Learner program, where students rank in the 24th percentile statewide, showing positive momentum from the 11th percentile the previous year.

The contrast with nearby schools is striking. Baldwin Art And Academics Magnet, just 5.5 miles away, ranks in the 94th percentile with 90.08% 8th grade ELA proficiency, while Floyd Middle School ranks in the 88th percentile. Even Millbrook Middle School in Elmore County, serving a similar demographic, achieves 40.34% math proficiency—roughly 4-5 times Southlawn's rates. Notably, Southlawn spends $10,399 per student, about 30% more than these higher-performing schools, and has improved its student-teacher ratio to 14.5:1. This suggests that additional resources alone won't solve the problem—fundamental changes to instructional approach and school culture appear necessary to break the cycle of low performance.