Best Public Schools in Zip Code 36801

Schools in zip code 36801, serving the Opelika City district in Alabama, include 8 schools spanning grades K-12 with a total enrollment of 4,897 students. This area offers a mix of primary, intermediate, middle, and high school options, with performance varying significantly from school to school despite shared district resources.

For parents, the standout choice in this area is Northside School, which ranks 347th of 686 elementary schools statewide and leads the area with the strongest math and English proficiency scores (up to 49% and 66%, respectively) while also having the lowest chronic absenteeism at just 8.2%. Fox Run School, a 6th-grade-only school, is also encouraging, matching or exceeding state averages in both math and English. On the other end, West Forest Intermediate School is the area's biggest concern, ranking in the 25th percentile with a 1-star rating and math proficiency as low as 25% in 3rd grade. Opelika High School shows improvement, moving up to 137th in the state with a 91.2% graduation rate, though its 20% chronic absenteeism rate is a red flag—67% higher than the district average.

Key takeaways for families include a clear pattern where schools with higher poverty rates, like Carver Primary School and West Forest, tend to struggle more academically. However, Opelika Middle School is a bright spot in science, with 8th-grade proficiency at 58.9%—nearly 5 points above the state average. Across the district, English proficiency consistently outpaces math, suggesting a need for math curriculum improvements. Notably, spending doesn't predict success: Morris Avenue Intermediate School spends more per student than Northside but achieves far weaker results, while a dramatic 58% drop in 5th-grade math at Morris Avenue (from 48% to 20%) points to a possible grade-level issue. Overall, the district's 2-star rating masks wide variation, so parents should evaluate individual schools carefully.