Summary:
Zip code 35022 in Bessemer, Alabama, is home to three elementary schools serving grades PK-5: McCalla Elementary School, Greenwood Elementary School, and Westhills Elementary School, which together enroll about 1,319 students across two different districts.
McCalla Elementary School is the clear standout in this area. It is the only school with a 2-star rating, ranking 398th out of 686 Alabama elementary schools (42nd percentile), and it belongs to the higher-performing Jefferson County district. McCalla outperforms the other two schools in nearly every subject and grade level. For example, its 5th-grade English proficiency is 78.5%, well above the state average of 69.5%, while its 4th-grade math proficiency (42%) is right at the state average. In contrast, Westhills Elementary School is the lowest-performing school, ranking 677th out of 686 (1st percentile). Its 5th-grade math proficiency is just 2.17%, meaning only about 1 in 46 students is proficient—a critical red flag. Greenwood Elementary School sits in the middle, ranking 558th (19th percentile), but it has shown the most positive momentum, jumping 15 percentile points over the past two years.
There are some surprising patterns in the data. Westhills actually spends the most per student ($14,067) and has the smallest class sizes (17.3:1), yet it achieves the lowest scores—while McCalla spends less and performs far better. Also, chronic absenteeism is lowest at Westhills (5.5%) and highest at McCalla (10.6%), the opposite of what you might expect. Both Greenwood and Westhills belong to the Bessemer City district, which ranks in the bottom 5% of Alabama districts, though both schools still outperform their district averages. Socioeconomic factors are notable too: free/reduced lunch rates range from 54% at McCalla to 74% at Westhills, which tracks with the performance gap. For parents, McCalla is clearly the strongest choice in this zip code, while Westhills—especially its 5th-grade math—needs urgent attention.
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