Summary:
Zip code 36925 is home to just one high school, Sumter Central High School in York, Alabama, which serves grades 5 through 12 and enrolls 526 students within the Sumter County school district.
As the only high school in the area, Sumter Central High School faces significant academic challenges. In the most recent school year, proficiency rates lagged the state average by 19 to 36 percentage points in every subject and grade level tested. The most alarming figure is 0% proficiency in 8th-grade math, meaning no students met the standard. English scores are consistently higher than math scores—for example, 5th graders show 40.5% proficiency in English versus just 5.1% in math—but both remain critically low. The school's graduation rate stands at 72.1%, nearly 20 points below the state average of 91.5%, and chronic absenteeism affects 28.5% of students, more than double the statewide rate of 12%.
Despite these struggles, there are small signs of progress. The school's state ranking improved from the 1st percentile in 2023-2024 to the 6th-7th percentile in subsequent years. However, with 85% of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch, the school serves a high-poverty population that faces substantial socioeconomic barriers. Per-student spending of $11,425 appears reasonable, yet outcomes remain low, suggesting resources may be directed toward non-academic needs. The 5th-grade cohort shows notably stronger performance, particularly in English, but the sharp decline by 6th grade points to a transition problem worth investigating. For parents considering this school, the combination of high poverty, high absenteeism, and low academic performance indicates a need for comprehensive support addressing both educational and non-educational challenges.
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