Summary:
Zip code 36075, serving the Shorter, Alabama area, is home to just one school: DC Wolfe School, a small elementary school in the Macon County district that serves grades PK through 6 with an enrollment of 111 students.
For parents considering this area, DC Wolfe School is a school showing real momentum. Its state ranking jumped dramatically from 578th to 425th out of roughly 685 schools in a single year, moving from a 1-star to a 2-star rating. The school consistently outperforms its district in nearly every subject—for example, 4th grade math proficiency is 45.45% compared to the district's 19.42%, and 5th grade English proficiency is 76.92%, which actually exceeds the state average of 69.53%. English is a relative strength across all grades, while math remains the bigger challenge, with proficiency gaps widening in the upper grades. The school also has a favorable 11.1:1 student-teacher ratio and spends about $13,524 per student, which is a solid investment for a school where 77.48% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch.
The main concerns are chronic absenteeism and math performance. At 16.9%, the school's chronic absenteeism rate is better than the district's 24.1% but still above the state's 12%, representing roughly 19 students who could benefit from targeted outreach. Math proficiency trails state averages by 8 to 17 points depending on grade, though the dramatic year-over-year improvements—like 4th grade math jumping from 5.88% to 45.45%—suggest recent interventions are working. Fifth grade appears to be a "sweet spot" with the strongest scores in both subjects. Overall, this is a small, high-poverty school on an upward trajectory that offers strong teacher attention and is a clear bright spot within its district, though sustaining growth in math and reducing absenteeism will be key to continued progress.
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