Summary:
Zip code 35740, serving the Bridgeport area of Alabama, is home to two public schools within the Jackson County School District, which holds a 3-star rating and ranks in the 63rd percentile statewide.
For parents, the standout school in this area is Bridgeport Middle School, which serves grades 5-8 and has earned a 4-star rating. This school has consistently ranked in the top 25% of Alabama middle schools for three straight years, with exceptional performance in 8th-grade Science (85.71% proficient vs. 54.12% statewide) and 8th-grade Mathematics (57.14% proficient vs. 26.36% statewide). However, it faces a notable challenge with chronic absenteeism at 14.4%, which is higher than both district and state averages. Meanwhile, Bridgeport Elementary School (PK-4) is the school to watch for improvement. It jumped from a 2-star to a 4-star rating in just one year, improving its state ranking by 178 places. Its 4th-grade English (73.53% proficient) and Science (64.71% proficient) scores are strong, and its chronic absenteeism rate of just 5.1% is excellent—less than half the district average.
Both schools share a similar economic profile, with about 52% of students receiving free/reduced lunch, and both have relatively high student-teacher ratios (21.3 at the elementary and 20.5 at the middle school). A key takeaway is the dramatic 44.7 percentage point jump in 4th-grade Science proficiency at the elementary school, suggesting a successful new curriculum or initiative. The middle school also spends significantly more per student ($15,280 vs. $10,210), likely reflecting the cost of specialized facilities and teachers. The district's challenge will be maintaining the elementary school's upward momentum while addressing the middle school's attendance issues, which makes its already impressive academic performance even more noteworthy.
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