Best Public Schools in Zip Code 36041

Zip code 36041 is served by a single school, Highland Home School, a PK-12 institution in Highland Home, Alabama, that educates 746 students under the Crenshaw County school district.

As the only school in the area, Highland Home School carries the full responsibility of educating the community from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. The school shows genuine strengths in early education: 3rd-grade English proficiency (63.33%) nearly matches the state average, and 4th-grade science (42.31%) actually exceeds the district average. The graduation rate of 86.7% also beats the district's 83.9%, suggesting the school successfully keeps students on track to earn diplomas. However, significant challenges emerge as students age. Chronic absenteeism sits at 24.5%—more than double the state rate of 12.0%—and this likely contributes to a dramatic academic decline in middle school. Math proficiency collapses from 44.07% in 3rd grade to just 4.92% in 8th grade, while 8th-grade English proficiency (25.81%) trails the state average (58.53%) by more than 30 points. The school also experiences notable year-to-year swings in test scores, such as a 23-point drop in 4th-grade English between 2024-25 and 2025-26, which may reflect small class sizes or inconsistent instructional approaches.

For parents, the key takeaway is that Highland Home School provides a solid foundation in the early grades but struggles to maintain that momentum through middle and high school. The middle school years (grades 6-8) represent a critical transition point where proficiency rates collapse, and the high absenteeism rate compounds these academic challenges. With 64.61% of students qualifying for free/reduced lunch, socioeconomic factors are clearly at play. The school's "Alternative" designation is unusual for a comprehensive PK-12 school and may influence funding or programming. While the graduation rate is encouraging, parents should be aware that secondary math and English scores lag significantly behind state averages, and the school would benefit from targeted interventions in grades 6-8 and a renewed focus on improving attendance.