Summary:
Zip code 35208 in Birmingham, AL, is served by a single middle school, Bush Hills STEAM Academy, which enrolls 370 students in grades 6-8 within the Birmingham City school district.
For parents considering this school, the most important takeaway is that Bush Hills STEAM Academy faces significant academic challenges despite its specialized focus and substantial funding. The school spends about $19,712 per student, yet its state ranking places it in the bottom 8% of Alabama middle schools. Math proficiency is critically low, with only 1.8% of 8th graders and about 4.5% of 6th and 7th graders meeting state standards—far below the state averages of 26-35%. Science performance, while improved, still lags at 21.9% proficiency compared to the 54.1% state average. English scores are a relative bright spot, particularly in 7th grade where 38.2% of students are proficient, which actually exceeds the district average of 36.3%. However, 6th and 8th grade English proficiency hovers around 27-28%, well below state levels.
One remarkable positive is the school's chronic absenteeism rate of just 4.1%, which is roughly one-third of both the district (13.1%) and state (12.0%) rates—indicating strong attendance despite high poverty levels (85.4% free/reduced lunch). The school also showed meaningful progress in 8th grade science, more than doubling proficiency from 9.2% to 21.9% year-over-year. However, the "STEAM paradox" is concerning: a school designated for science and math excellence shows its weakest results in those very subjects. With a student-to-teacher ratio of 20.5:1 and declining English scores in most grades, parents should understand that while the school has dedicated students and some emerging strengths, it faces systemic instructional challenges that will require significant intervention to close the achievement gap.
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