Summary:
The 36040 zip code area in Lowndes County, Alabama is home to 4 schools serving grades K-12, including 2 elementary schools, 1 middle school, and 1 high school. All of these schools are part of the Lowndes County school district, which is ranked 122 out of 135 districts in the state and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.
While the majority of schools in the 36040 zip code area struggle with very low proficiency rates on state assessments, JacksonSteele Elementary School stands out as the highest performing school in the area. In the 2024-2025 school year, 86.36% of 5th graders at JacksonSteele were proficient or better in English Language Arts, compared to just 26.67% at Central Elementary. JacksonSteele also has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger, the highest in the 36040 zip code area.
Across the schools in this area, there are some concerning trends, including high chronic absenteeism rates around 15% and very low graduation and high dropout rates at Central High School. Additionally, all schools have extremely high percentages of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, ranging from 92.82% to 98.92%. While spending per student varies, from $12,290 at Central Elementary to $15,465 at Central High, this does not seem to correlate with academic outcomes, suggesting that simply increasing funding may not be the sole solution to improving performance in these schools.
Thank you for your feedback!