Summary:
Zip code 35014 in Alpine, Alabama, is served by two schools in the Talladega County district: Winterboro High School (grades 6-12, 380 students) and Sycamore School (grades PK-5, 340 students), together educating about 720 students in a predominantly low-income area where roughly two-thirds qualify for free or reduced lunch.
These two schools present a stark contrast in academic trajectories. Sycamore School shows clear strengths in early education—its 5th grade math proficiency (46.67%) and 3rd grade English (76.09%) both beat district and state averages. However, the school has slipped in overall state ranking from the 60th to 42nd percentile over two years. Winterboro High School boasts a strong 93.3% graduation rate and has improved its state ranking from the 22nd to 34th percentile, yet its academic proficiency lags badly. The most alarming trend is a "middle school cliff" in math: proficiency plunges from 12.77% in 6th grade to just 5.77% in 8th grade. Even more striking, only 10.81% of 11th graders are proficient in English—a 23-point gap below the state average—despite 6th graders achieving 55.32% proficiency.
The transition from Sycamore to Winterboro appears to be the critical breaking point, as strong 5th grade performance does not carry into 6th grade. Both schools struggle with chronic absenteeism (14.7% and 16.4%, both above state averages), and Winterboro spends a relatively high $13,197 per student without commensurate results. Year-to-year test scores swing dramatically, suggesting small cohorts and inconsistent instruction. For parents, Sycamore offers solid elementary foundations, but Winterboro presents serious academic challenges in middle and high school, particularly in math and 11th grade English, despite its excellent graduation rate.
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