Summary:
Zip code 36110 in Montgomery, Alabama, is served by a single elementary school, Chisholm Elementary School, which educates students in grades K-5 and is part of the Montgomery County district.
For parents considering this area, the most important takeaway is that Chisholm Elementary is facing significant academic challenges, particularly in mathematics. Only about 7% of students in grades 3 through 5 are proficient in math, compared to roughly 40-45% statewide—a gap of nearly 40 percentage points. The school performs better in English (18-27% proficiency) and science (28% proficiency), though these subjects also trail state averages. On a positive note, English scores improve as students advance from 3rd to 5th grade, and 4th grade science proficiency jumped dramatically from 10.5% to 28.2% in one year, suggesting some instructional strategies may be working. The school serves a high-poverty population, with 81.5% of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch, and chronic absenteeism stands at 20.8%—nearly double the state average of 12%, though better than the district's 25.2%.
With a student-teacher ratio of 15.9:1 and per-student spending of $8,694, the school has resources comparable to others in the state, yet outcomes remain in the bottom 1-2% of Alabama elementary schools, earning a 0-star rating. This suggests that simply adding funds or reducing class sizes may not be enough. The combination of high poverty, elevated absenteeism, and very low math proficiency points to a school in critical need of comprehensive support—including targeted academic interventions, attendance initiatives, and family engagement programs. While the recent science improvement offers hope, parents should be aware that Chisholm Elementary will likely require sustained, multi-faceted efforts to reverse its current trajectory and close the achievement gap with the rest of the state.
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