Summary:
Zip code 35186 is home to a single school, Wilsonville Elementary School, a small rural school serving grades PK through 5 with 229 students in the highly-rated Shelby County district.
For parents, the most important takeaway is that this school shows a clear split between subjects. In English Language Arts, Wilsonville is a standout, beating both district and state averages in every grade. For example, 3rd-grade reading proficiency is 84%, compared to 75% for the district and 65% statewide. Science in 4th grade is also strong at 67%. However, math tells a very different story. While 3rd graders perform well (66% proficient, well above the state's 45%), the numbers drop sharply each year: 44% in 4th grade and just 29% in 5th grade, which is nearly 10 points below the state average. This downward trend is the biggest concern for families, suggesting that as math concepts become more complex, students are struggling to keep pace. The school's overall state ranking is solid—177th out of 686 elementary schools, earning a 4-star rating—but this is pulled down by the upper-grade math scores.
On the positive side, the school has a low chronic absenteeism rate of just 7.5%, far better than the district (11%) and state (12%), which indicates strong daily engagement. With a student-teacher ratio of 14.1 to 1, class sizes are small enough for personalized attention. Over 55% of students qualify for free/reduced lunch, yet the school still achieves above-average results in reading and science, pointing to a resilient and supportive environment. One caveat: the school's state ranking has bounced around over the past three years (from 140th to 205th to 177th), likely due to its small size, where a handful of students can swing percentages significantly. For parents, this means Wilsonville is an excellent choice for strong literacy and early math, but it's worth asking the school about their 4th and 5th grade math intervention strategies.
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