Summary:
Zip code 35043 is home to a single middle school, Chelsea Middle School, which serves grades 6 through 8 and is part of the highly-rated Shelby County school district.
Chelsea Middle School is a standout performer, consistently ranking in the top 10% of all middle schools in Alabama and earning a 5-star rating for three consecutive years. With 831 students, the school excels academically, particularly in 8th-grade science, where 82.58% of students are proficient—a rate that far exceeds both the district (69.93%) and state (54.12%) averages. English Language Arts scores are also strong, with 6th and 8th graders achieving over 77% proficiency. Mathematics proficiency is solid overall, but there is a notable "7th-grade slump," with proficiency dropping to 35.21% in 7th grade compared to over 52% in both 6th and 8th grades. This pattern appeared in the previous year's data as well, suggesting a persistent challenge that the school may want to investigate.
The school benefits from a supportive environment: only 29% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch, and the chronic absenteeism rate is a low 8.6%, better than both the district (11.0%) and state (12.0%) averages. The student-teacher ratio is 17.8 to 1, and per-student spending was $7,609 in the most recent data. Chelsea Middle School outperforms its already strong district in every subject and grade level, often by significant margins—for example, 8th-grade math proficiency is 52.47% versus the district's 37.57%. While its state ranking dipped slightly from the 94th to 90th percentile, test scores actually improved, indicating the change is due to other schools improving, not a decline in performance. Overall, this is a high-achieving school with a clear area of excellence in science and a specific area for improvement in 7th-grade math.
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