Summary:
Zip code 35128, home to Pell City, Alabama, contains just one elementary school: Walter M Kennedy School, a K-4 school serving 437 students within the Pell City district.
For parents considering this area, Walter M Kennedy School stands out as a high-performing institution with a remarkable upward trajectory. The school has climbed from the 55th percentile (3 stars) in 2023-2024 to the 81st percentile (4 stars) in 2025-2026—a jump of 184 positions in just two years. Academically, it outperforms state averages in every tested subject and grade level, with particularly strong results in 3rd-grade Mathematics (66.67% proficiency vs. 44.89% statewide) and 3rd-grade English (79.10% vs. 64.75%). The school also excels in attendance, with a chronic absenteeism rate of just 6.0%—half the state average of 12.0% and well below the district's 9.5%. This is especially notable given that 61.33% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch, yet the school achieves proficiency rates 9-22 percentage points above state averages.
One pattern worth noting is that 3rd-grade students consistently outperform 4th-grade students in both Math and English, with the gap most pronounced in Math (66.67% vs. 56.98%). While 3rd-grade scores improved dramatically year-over-year (+11.11 points in Math, +7.99 in English), 4th-grade scores saw slight declines. Science is the school's relative weakness compared to its own district—while it beats the state average (61.63% vs. 50.23%), it trails the Pell City district average (67.68%) by about 6 points. With a student-teacher ratio of 17.4:1 and per-student spending of $9,103, the school achieves strong results efficiently. Overall, this is a school on the rise, with effective early-grade instruction and an exceptional attendance culture, though 4th-grade Science and the 4th-grade dip in core subjects may be areas for future focus.
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