Summary:
Zip code 36111 in Montgomery, Alabama, is served by two elementary schools—Dannelly Elementary School (PK-5) and Bear Exploration Center (K-5)—both part of the Montgomery County district, which currently ranks in the bottom 20% of Alabama districts.
These two schools represent opposite ends of the academic spectrum. Bear Exploration Center is a standout success, consistently ranking in the top 5% of all Alabama elementary schools with a 5-star rating. In 2025-2026, it ranked 24th out of 686 schools statewide. Its students dramatically outperform both district and state averages—for example, 96% of 3rd graders are proficient in English versus a 65% state average, and 92% of 4th graders are proficient in science versus a 50% state average. In contrast, Dannelly Elementary School ranks in the bottom 15% statewide with a 1-star rating, and its proficiency rates lag far behind, with only 15% of 3rd graders proficient in math and just 6% of 5th graders proficient in math. The academic gap between the two schools is 50-60 percentage points in nearly every subject and grade level.
Socioeconomic factors and attendance help explain this divide. At Dannelly, 84.5% of students qualify for free/reduced lunch and the chronic absenteeism rate is 23.2%, compared to just 37.3% and 3.7% at Bear Exploration Center. Despite Dannelly receiving slightly more funding per student ($8,784 vs. $8,121) and having a better student-teacher ratio (15.8:1 vs. 18.7:1), these resources have not translated into improved outcomes. Both schools have maintained their respective performance levels consistently over the past three years, suggesting that Bear Exploration Center—likely benefiting from a specialized magnet-style model—offers a dramatically different educational experience than Dannelly, even within the same zip code and district.
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