Summary:
Zip code 35575 in Lynn, Alabama, is served by two public schools within the Winston County district, which together educate 424 students across grades PK-12 in a predominantly lower-income community.
These two schools are heading in opposite directions. Lynn High School (grades 5-12) has staged a dramatic turnaround, jumping from a 2-star rating to a 4-star rating in a single year, climbing 113 spots in the state rankings. It now sits at the 73rd percentile and boasts a perfect 100% graduation rate, well above both district and state averages. However, this improvement is uneven. While 5th graders excel in math (65.63% proficiency, far above the state's 39.06%) and 11th graders show strong math gains (41.18%), the middle grades are a serious concern—7th grade math proficiency is at 0%, and 8th grade sits at just 11.54%. In contrast, Lynn Elementary School (grades PK-4) is on a steady decline, falling from the 68th percentile to the 36th percentile over two years. Its 4th grade English (40%) and science (34.29%) proficiency rates are significantly below state averages, and its chronic absenteeism rate of 18.7% is 56% higher than the district's.
For parents, the key takeaway is that the high school offers strong graduation outcomes and pockets of academic excellence, but the transition into middle school appears to be a critical breaking point where student performance collapses. The elementary school, despite receiving more funding per student ($11,990 vs. $10,312), is struggling with literacy and science, and its high absenteeism is likely a contributing factor. The 5th grade's exceptional performance suggests early instruction works, but those gains are being lost. With small class sizes (roughly 32 students per grade), individual student performance can cause large swings in proficiency rates, making year-to-year comparisons volatile. Families should look closely at the middle school experience and the elementary school's absenteeism problem when making decisions.
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