Summary:
Zip code 35080 is home to a single middle school, Helena Middle, which serves grades 6-8 and is part of the highly-rated Shelby County district.
For parents in this area, Helena Middle is a standout performer that consistently beats both district and state averages. The school’s greatest strength is English/Language Arts, where proficiency rates range from 69% to 77% across all grades—roughly 13 to 18 points above the state average. Math performance is also solid in 6th and 7th grades, but there is a notable "8th grade dip," with proficiency dropping to 34.9%, which is actually below the district average of 37.6%. Science scores are a bright spot in the most recent year, with 8th graders hitting 72.6% proficiency, though this follows a volatile swing from just 52% the prior year. The school has also improved its state ranking dramatically, jumping from 88th to 49th out of about 440 middle schools in just two years, placing it in the top 11% of the state.
Beyond test scores, Helena Middle benefits from a relatively affluent student body, with only 27.5% of students qualifying for free/reduced lunch. Chronic absenteeism is low at 9.9%, better than both the district (11.0%) and state (12.0%), and the student-teacher ratio is a reasonable 18.2:1. While the school excels overall, the 8th grade math weakness and the volatility in science scores are worth monitoring. For families seeking a high-achieving middle school with strong literacy instruction and a positive attendance culture, Helena Middle is an excellent choice within the Shelby County system.
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