Summary:
Zip code 35673 in Trinity, Alabama, is home to three high schools serving grades 9-12: West Morgan High School, East Lawrence High School, and the small specialized Lawrence County Developmental program, with a combined enrollment of 905 students.
For parents, the standout choice is West Morgan High School, which earned a 3-star rating and ranks 132nd out of 380 Alabama high schools—a massive jump from 271st the previous year. It leads the area in math (29.92% proficient) and science (41.73% proficient), both above state averages, and boasts a 96.3% graduation rate. East Lawrence High School is a consistent performer, holding steady at the 28th percentile, with a 95.2% graduation rate and math scores (23.26%) that far exceed its Lawrence County district average (16.46%). However, both traditional schools struggle significantly with English proficiency—West Morgan at 22.76% and East Lawrence at 20.73% versus the 33.73% state average—making this the clearest area for improvement. The Morgan County district, which includes West Morgan, ranks 47th statewide, while Lawrence County ranks 99th, reflecting a notable performance gap between the two districts.
Despite economic challenges (roughly two-thirds of students at each school qualify for free/reduced lunch), both West Morgan and East Lawrence keep chronic absenteeism well below the 12% state average (6.4% and 9.8%, respectively). Interestingly, East Lawrence spends more per student ($11,542 vs. $10,963) and has a better student-teacher ratio (15.5:1 vs. 18.4:1), yet West Morgan outperforms it in nearly every academic metric, suggesting factors like school culture and leadership matter more than resources alone. The most dramatic finding is West Morgan's year-over-year surge—science proficiency more than doubled and math nearly tripled—which makes it a compelling case study in successful school improvement. Meanwhile, Lawrence County Developmental serves just 21 students with a specialized mission and lacks standard test and graduation data, so it cannot be compared directly to the other schools.
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