Summary:
Zip code 35136, encompassing the Rockford, Alabama area, is served by a single elementary school, Central Elementary School, which educates students in grades K-6 within the Coosa County district.
For parents considering this area, Central Elementary School is the only option for elementary education, serving 397 students. The school operates with a favorable student-teacher ratio of 15.9:1 and spends approximately $9,996 per student. A significant majority of the student body (76.57%) qualifies for free or reduced lunch, indicating a high-poverty environment. Academically, the school faces considerable challenges, particularly in mathematics, where proficiency rates in 2025-2026 ranged from just 7.41% in 6th grade to 22.81% in 4th grade—all substantially below state averages by 19 to 32 points. English Language Arts performance is mixed: 5th graders actually exceeded the state average at 72.31% proficiency, but other grades lagged behind, with 4th grade showing the largest deficit at 20.9 points below the state. Science proficiency in 4th grade also fell short of the state average by 22.2 points.
Notably, the school's performance mirrors the district exactly, confirming it is the sole elementary campus in Coosa County. The most concerning trend is a sharp year-over-year decline in math scores across most grades, alongside a significant drop in 4th-grade English scores. However, there are bright spots: chronic absenteeism at 10.2% is better than the state average of 12.0%, and 5th-grade reading improvement is encouraging. The school's state ranking fell from the 31st percentile in 2024-2025 to the 22nd percentile in 2025-2026, reflecting these academic struggles. While the high-poverty context explains some performance gaps, the magnitude of the math deficits and recent declines suggest that targeted interventions in mathematics and early-grade literacy are urgently needed to improve outcomes for students at this school.
Thank you for your feedback!