Summary:
Zip code 36769, serving the Pine Hill, Alabama area, contains just one school: F S Ervin Elementary School, a small PK-6 school with 197 students in the Wilcox County district.
For parents considering this area, the most important takeaway is that F S Ervin Elementary serves a high-poverty community (83% of students qualify for free/reduced lunch) and faces significant academic challenges, particularly in mathematics. Math proficiency is dramatically below state averages across all grades—most alarmingly, 0% of 5th graders scored proficient in math, compared to 39% statewide. Even the school's best math performance (25% in 6th grade) trails the state average by 10 points. English performance is comparatively stronger, with 5th graders achieving 57.89% proficiency, which actually exceeds the district average and approaches the state level. However, results are highly volatile year-to-year due to small class sizes—4th grade English plummeted 33.6 points in one year, while 6th grade math jumped 20.8 points—making single-year comparisons unreliable.
A critical concern is the school's chronic absenteeism rate of 24.3%, which is double the state average and likely a major barrier to learning. The school's state ranking has declined from the 20th percentile to the 13th percentile over three years, despite per-student spending of $13,046, which is above the national average. This raises questions about resource allocation and whether funds are effectively reaching classrooms. While the school shows pockets of strength in upper-grade literacy, the consistent math struggles across all grades and the high absenteeism suggest systemic issues requiring targeted intervention. Parents should be aware that with only 20-30 students per grade, individual student performance can dramatically shift school-wide statistics, so it's wise to look at multi-year trends rather than any single year's results when evaluating this school.
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