Summary:
Zip code 36609 in Mobile, Alabama, is served by a single elementary school, Elizabeth Fonde Elementary School, which enrolls 663 students in grades PK through 5 within the Mobile County school district.
Elizabeth Fonde Elementary serves a predominantly low-income population, with 84.31% of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch. Academically, the school trails both district and state averages significantly across all subjects. The most concerning area is 3rd-grade math, where only 7.21% of students are proficient compared to 44.89% statewide—a gap of nearly 38 percentage points. English proficiency shows a more encouraging pattern, improving dramatically as students advance: from 25.45% proficiency in 3rd grade to 41.05% in 4th grade and 58.62% in 5th grade, nearly closing the gap with the state average by 5th grade. Science proficiency in 4th grade (35.11%) is also a relative strength, closer to the district average than math scores. The school's state ranking has declined over three consecutive years, from 557th to 568th out of roughly 600 Alabama elementary schools.
Year-to-year performance is notably volatile, with 3rd-grade English dropping 15.14 percentage points and 5th-grade math improving 10.29 points between 2024-2025 and 2025-2026. This instability may reflect small cohort sizes or changing student needs. One clear bright spot is chronic absenteeism: at 8.9%, it is significantly better than both the district (12.8%) and state (12.0%) averages, indicating students attend school regularly. With a student-to-teacher ratio of 19.2:1 and per-student spending of $10,018, the school faces substantial challenges tied to its high-poverty environment. Parents should expect that while the school provides consistent attendance and shows meaningful growth in reading by upper grades, foundational math skills and overall proficiency remain critical areas needing attention and support.
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