Summary:
Zip code 35020, encompassing the Bessemer, Brighton, and Lipscomb areas of Alabama, is home to six elementary schools serving grades PK-5 (with one exception) and a combined enrollment of roughly 1,827 students across three districts: Bessemer City, Jefferson County, and Empower Schools of Alabama.
Lipscomb Elementary School is the clear standout, consistently outperforming its local peers and often exceeding state averages in math and English despite serving a population where nearly 74% of students qualify for free/reduced lunch. In the most recent testing year, 56.25% of its 3rd graders were proficient in math, compared to just 19.44% at Abrams Elementary School and 5.88% at Jonesboro Elementary School. Abrams Elementary School is the most improved, with an extraordinary chronic absenteeism rate of just 0.4%—30 times better than the state average—and it outperformed its district average in every subject in 2025-2026. Meanwhile, Empower Community SchoolLower School showed the largest relative gain in 3rd-grade math, jumping from 2.78% to 18.52% proficiency in one year, though data is limited to that grade.
There is a stark divide between the Jefferson County schools (Lipscomb and Brighton School) and the Bessemer City schools (Jonesboro, Charles F Hard Elementary School, and Abrams), with the former generally outperforming the latter despite similar poverty levels. Science proficiency is a universal weakness, with Charles F Hard Elementary School reporting 0% proficiency in 4th-grade science in 2024-2025. All schools face significant socioeconomic challenges, with free/reduced lunch rates ranging from 71% to 83%, and even the best-performing school ranks only in the 34th percentile statewide—highlighting both the obstacles and the potential for improvement in this community.
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