Schools in Zip Code 35216

Schools in zip code 35216, located in the Birmingham suburb of Vestavia Hills, Alabama, comprise five highly-ranked public schools within the Vestavia Hills City district, serving students from Pre-K through 12th grade with a combined enrollment of 4,766 students.

This is an exceptionally strong school district, ranked #2 in Alabama, and every school here performs far above state averages. The standout is Pizitz Middle School, which holds the #2 middle school ranking in the state, with remarkable 8th-grade proficiency rates of 94% in science and 94% in English. Among the elementary schools, Vestavia Hills Elementary East is the top performer, ranked #7 in the state, and posts a 91% 5th-grade math proficiency rate—well above the district average of 80%. Vestavia Hills Elementary West is also strong, though slightly behind its East counterpart. At the high school level, Vestavia Hills High School is ranked #4 in the state, with a 95.3% graduation rate and 11th-grade English proficiency of 82.5%, more than double the state average. The district also operates a unique Vestavia Hills High School Freshman Campus, a dedicated 9th-grade center that keeps younger high schoolers engaged, evidenced by its low 3.9% chronic absenteeism rate.

Attendance is a major strength across the district, with chronic absenteeism at just 1.8% at Elementary East and 5.2% at Pizitz, though the main high school is a notable outlier at 12.4%—slightly above the state average. There is also a slight dip in proficiency from middle to high school (e.g., science drops from 94% in 8th grade to 78% in 11th grade), likely reflecting more rigorous coursework. The community is affluent, with low free/reduced lunch rates (7–13.5%) and per-student spending above $11,000, which supports small class sizes and strong resources. Overall, families in 35216 have access to a consistently excellent, well-funded school system with top-tier academics from elementary through high school.