Summary:
Zip code 35653 in Russellville, Alabama, is home to 2 elementary schools serving 1,262 students in grades PK-6 within the Russellville City school district, a community where over half of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.
For parents exploring options, West Elementary School (grades PK-2) is the larger of the two with 686 students and offers a slightly better student-teacher ratio (16.6:1) and higher per-student spending ($10,499) compared to its counterpart. It also posts a strong chronic absenteeism rate of 8.6%, well below the state average of 12.0%. Meanwhile, Russellville Elementary School (grades 3-6) has shown remarkable recent momentum, jumping 110 positions in state ranking from 296th to 186th between 2023-24 and 2024-25. Its standout subject is science, where 4th graders achieved 71.98% proficiency—nearly 22 points above the state average. The school also has the best attendance in the zip code at 8.0% chronic absenteeism, despite serving a population with higher economic need (61.98% free/reduced lunch).
However, parents should note a concerning pattern at Russellville Elementary: math proficiency declines steadily from 58.62% in 3rd grade to 37.02% in 5th grade, and English proficiency similarly drops from 68% to 59.44%, with 5th grade falling 10 points below the state average. This suggests a cumulative learning gap that widens as students advance, possibly tied to the transition from West Elementary at 3rd grade. Year-over-year test scores also show significant volatility—3rd grade math dropped nearly 15 points while 4th grade science jumped 17.5 points—which may reflect different cohorts rather than program changes. Both schools spend efficiently ($10,187-$10,499 per student) and maintain excellent attendance despite economic challenges, indicating strong family engagement. The feeder pattern (PK-2 to 3-6) warrants attention to curriculum alignment between the two schools to address the upper-grade performance slide.
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