Summary:
Zip code 36527 is home to just one middle school, Spanish Fort Middle School, which serves grades 7-8 in the Spanish Fort area of Alabama and is part of the Baldwin County school district.
Spanish Fort Middle School is an elite performer, consistently earning a 5-star rating and ranking in the top 5% of Alabama middle schools for three straight years. Its strongest subject is 8th-grade Science, where 84% of students are proficient—about 30 points above the state average. English is also a major strength, with roughly 80% proficiency in both grades, outpacing the state by 20-25 points. Math performance is solid but uneven: 7th graders hit 56.55% proficiency (32 points above the state), while 8th graders lag at 47.44% and actually declined slightly year-over-year. This grade-level gap in math is the school's main area to watch. The school also boasts remarkably low chronic absenteeism at just 6.4%, less than half the district and state rates, which points to strong student engagement and a positive school climate.
With only 19.41% of students qualifying for free/reduced lunch, the school serves a relatively affluent population, and its student-teacher ratio of 18.3:1 is reasonable. The school's ranking dipped slightly from 17th to 21st in the state between 2024-2025 and 2025-2026, but this came alongside improved test scores in most subjects—suggesting tougher competition rather than declining performance. Per-student spending data is outdated (from 2018-2019 at $8,796), so current funding levels are unclear. Overall, Spanish Fort Middle School delivers exceptional academics, particularly in Science and English, with a stable, high-achieving environment. The only concern is 8th-grade math, which may benefit from targeted support to close the gap with 7th-grade performance.
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