Summary:
ZIP code 38114 contains 8 schools — 7 elementary schools and 1 high school — serving approximately 3,020 students, all part of the Memphis-Shelby County Schools district. Enrollments range from 203 students at Compass Community School Orange Mound Campus to 775 at Alcy Elementary School. The district ranks 137th out of 141 Tennessee districts (3rd percentile), establishing a challenging context for every school in this area.
Two schools stand out as bright spots. Cherokee Elementary School is the ZIP's top performer, ranking 552nd (46th percentile) with the best math (39.6%) and science (52.3%, above the state average) proficiency in the area. Rozelle Elementary School ranks 649th (36th percentile) and leads in ELA at 43.7% — also above the state average — with a relatively low chronic absenteeism rate of 25.2%. Dunbar Elementary School is improving rapidly. On the opposite end, Melrose High School ranks 397th out of 400 high schools, with a 77% graduation rate, a 20.4% dropout rate, and 69.9% chronic absenteeism. Hanley K-8 School ranks 1,014th out of 1,019 elementary schools, with proficiency below 10% in all subjects.
Chronic absenteeism is a ZIP-wide crisis — averaging 41.3%, more than double the state rate — and every school exceeds the state average. Higher spending does not guarantee better outcomes: Bethel Grove Elementary School spends $17,572 per student but posts math proficiency of just 11.6%, while Cherokee achieves far better results spending only $16,964. Compass Community School Orange Mound Campus has the lowest absenteeism in the ZIP (19.9%) but low academic proficiency, showing attendance alone is not enough. The enormous range in outcomes — math proficiency from 8.5% at Hanley to 39.6% at Cherokee — demonstrates that school leadership and culture matter, offering hope that successful strategies can be replicated across the area.
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