Summary:
Zip code 36206 is home to a single elementary school, Saks Elementary School, a public school serving grades PK through 6 with 625 students in the Calhoun County district.
For parents considering this area, Saks Elementary is the only option, so the key question is how it performs. The school has earned a 1-star rating for three consecutive years and ranks in the 26th percentile statewide (508th out of 686 schools). Academically, the most pressing concern is mathematics: proficiency rates in 2025-2026 ranged from just 19.18% in 4th grade to 26.83% in 3rd grade, far below the district range of 35.92% to 50.35% and the state range of 35.22% to 44.89%. Science is also a weak spot, with only 24.66% of 4th graders proficient compared to 55.02% in the district and 50.23% statewide. English scores are more mixed—5th graders hit a strong 70.83% proficiency, nearly matching the state average, but 4th graders lagged at just 35.62%. This inconsistency suggests performance varies significantly by grade level and subject.
On a positive note, the school has a lower chronic absenteeism rate (9.5%) than both the district (10.1%) and state (12.0%), indicating students are attending regularly. However, 77.6% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch, reflecting a high-poverty population that often faces additional challenges. The student-teacher ratio is 16.4:1, and per-student spending was $9,934 in 2018-2019. While the school showed improvement in math from the previous year (e.g., 3rd grade jumped from 6.67% to 26.83% proficiency), the overall picture is one of a school needing targeted support, particularly in math and science, to help its students reach grade-level expectations.
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