The Houston County School System ranks 129th out of 140 school systems in Alabama in per-pupil expenditures. More than half its students — 57% — qualify as economically disadvantaged, slightly above the state average.

And yet, Houston County outperformed every other county school system in Alabama on the 2025 ACAP, the state standardized test, in grades 3-8. More of its students tested proficient in math, science, and English Language Arts than in any other county system in the state.

Printable PDF available here.

Figure 1. Top 10 County Systems and the State, Percent Proficient on ACAP, Math, Science, English Language Arts, Grades 3-8, 2025

Ninety-six percent of Houston County third graders tested at or above the grade-level reading benchmark — placing the system among the top 20 in Alabama, and doing so with nearly 500 third graders. Most systems with comparable proficiency rates are working with far fewer children.

Figure 2. Top Performers in 3rd Grade Level Reading, Plus State, 2025

County school systems are notoriously hard to run. They can be geographically sprawling, with diverse communities and conditions within each feeder pattern. They generally have less money per student than city systems, and they face the ongoing challenge of building a shared sense of purpose and consistent quality across multiple schools with diverse populations.

Houston County appears to have found an approach that avoids those pitfalls. While the socioeconomic composition varies widely among the six elementary schools in the system, the rate of student proficiency varies only narrowly.

The school with the highest percentage of economically disadvantaged students scores nearly as well on the state’s ACAP assessment as the school with the lowest rate of economic disadvantage.

Figure 3. Houston County Elementary Schools’ ACAP Performance vs. Percent of Students Economically Disadvantaged, 2025

Keys to Success

Houston County’s story is the latest installment of Keys to Success, PARCA’s ongoing project to investigate schools and systems that outperform expectations and look for lessons that can be shared broadly. Previous installments include features on Wilcox County, where 96% of students passed the third-grade reading benchmark despite Wilcox having the state’s highest rate of student economic disadvantage, and Opp High School, where the college-and-career-ready rate among seniors actually exceeds the school’s graduation rate.

The series builds on earlier PARCA research, including features on Piedmont City Schools and reports like Exceeding Expectations, sponsored by the Business Education Alliance.

The Keys to Success series is supported by the generosity of the J.L. Bedsole Foundation, Charles and Estelle Campbell Foundation, The Daniel Foundation of Alabama, Hugh Kaul Foundation, Mike & Gillian Goodrich Foundation, Robert Meyer Foundation, Susan Mott Webb Foundation, and Wells Fargo Foundation.

Foundation, Framing, and Skilled Carpentry

Before running for Houston County Superintendent, Brandy White was a teacher and an assistant principal, and in his spare time, he and a partner developed a home-building business. After being elected superintendent of Houston County Schools, he left homebuilding. However, the approach he and his team have built in Houston County could be compared to home construction: a repeatable process that produces predictable, high-quality results regardless of variations in local conditions.

That process rests on five elements: understanding the blueprints, procuring quality materials and tools, measuring carefully before you cut, building a great team of carpenters, and celebrating what gets built.

Blueprints: Know What You’re Building

Houston County is taking advantage of a framework designed by Alabama educators and policymakers. Starting around 2010, Alabama began paying serious attention to its courses of study. The state adopted detailed learning standards that define what children should be learning at each grade level, laid out in a logical, building-block sequence aligned with the pace of learning students follow across the country.

Those standards have continued to evolve and improve, but their core function — giving teachers and students increasingly clear guidance about what to learn and when — has only grown stronger.

In Houston County, those standards aren’t just a reference document. They are the foundation on which everything else is built. Instruction is based on the standards. Assessments are built to mirror the standards. The logic is straightforward, as White’s team puts it: base instruction on the standards, test on the standards, and you will achieve the standards. The ACAP isn’t treated as an external imposition or a mysterious hurdle — it is a standards-based assessment, and Houston County treats it as such.

Procure Quality Materials and Tools

Knowing the plans is one thing. Successful execution requires the right tools and materials.

Houston County’s instructional team has worked deliberately to equip teachers and students with high-quality materials without overwhelming them with options. The education marketplace is flooded with instructional resources, computer-aided programs, curriculum packages, and textbook adoptions — many of them aggressively marketed to districts. Houston County officials made a conscious decision to choose a limited number of proven, high-quality tools and stick with them rather than chasing every new offering.

The system adopted SAVVAS as its core instructional platform and built a centralized resource hub where teachers can find what they need in one place. Supplemental tools like iReady, Moby Max, and IXL for high school students round out the toolkit without cluttering it.

The system also used ESSER funds — federal relief dollars that followed the pandemic — to put a Chromebook in the hands of every student. Before that, students took tests and accessed computers in shared labs, a logistical bottleneck that disadvantaged students who weren’t comfortable with the technology. Paper-and-pencil work is still valued and encouraged, but students also need to be fluent with the tools they’ll encounter on state assessments: drag-and-drop graph builders, multi-select questions, two-part items. The question Houston County asks itself is an important one: when a student struggles with a test item, is it because they don’t know the skill? Or is it because they’re unfamiliar with the format? Eliminating the second possibility lets teachers focus on the first.

Teachers, meanwhile, were equipped with interactive panels, laptops, and printers — the basic modern professional tools that allow them to do their jobs well.

Measure Twice, Cut Once: Assessment as Instruction

Perhaps the most distinctive element of Houston County’s approach is the way it has rebuilt its internal assessment system from the ground up.

The system administers summative assessments three times a year, timed so that the third assessment falls just before students sit for ACAP. Those assessments aren’t generic checkpoints — they are built to mirror the state test in structure, question type, and depth of knowledge, aligned directly to what’s in the course of study and calibrated to the pace students need to maintain to reach grade-level by testing time. And since ACAP is designed to test student mastery of Alabama’s learning standards, the coursework and instruction, the formative testing, and the standardized tests are all pointing in the same direction.

Nothing about student readiness is left to guesswork. Locally-designed 9-week tests are administered across the system, keeping students on pace and giving teachers data on class progress. Principals don’t have to wait for end-of-year results to know where their schools stand. The data tells them — specifically and in time to act.

And act they do. With each round of testing, the instructional teams at the schools dig into the results. Teachers identify which questions students missed, which standards those questions addressed, what type of question was involved, and what percentage of students got it right. When something goes wrong, they ask why. One telling example: seventh graders performed poorly on a particular item. Analyzing the item tripping students up, teachers discovered it was based on a sixth-grade skill that hadn’t been revisited. That diagnosis transformed data into an improved teaching strategy.

Building a Team

A house is only as good as the people who build it, and Brandy White is direct about what that means in practice.

Principals in Houston County are expected to be instructional leaders, not building managers. They have to know the data. They have to know what effective teaching looks like. They need to be in the classroom observing instruction — and they have to be willing to have hard conversations when something isn’t working.

That accountability runs in both directions. Principals are given real authority: they have the ability to make their own hiring decisions, with support from the central office rather than interference from it. The expectation is high, but so is the trust. As White puts it: “Hire good people and let them do their jobs.”

Non-tenured teachers who aren’t getting the job done are not renewed. The standard isn’t punitive — “No one is scared if they are getting it done” — but it is real. The culture White describes is one of high expectations paired with genuine support, and the result, he says, is that the educators who come to Houston County and thrive don’t want to leave.

“At the end of the day, none of our plans or initiatives matter if we don’t have strong teachers and staff who believe in the work and are fully bought in,” White said. “That’s really what drives success.”

The north star, always, is the students. “It’s got to be about the kids,” White says.

Celebrate What Gets Built

The fifth element of Houston County’s approach is easy to underestimate: the deliberate cultivation of a culture of pride and healthy competition.

When students do well, the system makes a point of recognizing it — honoring students who achieve perfect scores and students who make significant growth, because both matter. White describes a shift in mindset that has taken hold when the ACAP comes around. Instead of dreading testing or mailing it in, teachers and students are ready to show their work: “We’ve changed the culture. It’s time to show everybody what you know. This is the time to show how hard you’ve worked.”

The competition that has emerged is, as White describes it, competitive in a good way. Schools compare results. Students and teachers track progress. The system ranked first in the state in math and fourth in ELA in 2025 — and people know it, and they take pride in it.

“Excellence is the journey,” White says. No excuses. Positive outlook. And results to match.

Figure 4. Houston County vs State of Alabama, ACAP Proficiency by Subject, over time. Grades 3-8

What Houston County Teaches Us

Houston County Schools is not a story about abundant resources or favorable demographics. It is a system that concentrates on fundamentals: clear standards, strong materials, rigorous and aligned assessment, empowered and accountable principals and teachers, and a culture that celebrates the hard work of learning.

Based on the data, the system has built and continues to improve a repeatable process that, when applied with care, produces results you can measure and similar outcomes across diverse schools and student populations.

And Houston County is not resting on its laurels. This school year, the system set a theme: “Positive Mindset; No Excuses.”

That message is displayed throughout their schools, even setting it as the background on every computer.

“What’s been especially encouraging is seeing how much our students have embraced it, and that’s a direct reflection of the teachers and staff who bring it to life every day,” White said. “As we all know, any plan is only as good as the people implementing it.”

Decreasing immigration from abroad slowed population growth across Alabama’s counties in 2024 and 2025, though suburban counties and growth magnets in north and south Alabama continued to add new residents. The one-year metro population growth rate for Huntsville (3%) and Baldwin County (2%) put both among the fastest growing Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) in the US, with Huntsville at No. 6 and Baldwin County at No. 11.

Nationwide, the rate of population growth slowed sharply.

Printable PDF available here

Figure 1. Numeric Change by County, 2025

The new estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau cover the period between July 1, 2024 and July 1, 2025. State-level estimates were released earlier this year. A PARCA analysis of that data showed that Alabama’s population growth hit a peak in 2024, driven in equal parts by international migration, new residents moving to Alabama from other countries, and domestic migration, people moving to Alabama from other U.S. states.

In 2025, the international component dropped sharply, while domestic migration edged down modestly. Deaths outnumbered births in Alabama at large and in all but 17 of Alabama’s 67 counties. Statewide and in most counties, the population would be decreasing without growth through domestic or international migration.

Figure 2. Comparing International Migration in Alabama 2024 vs. 2025

In 2024, central urban counties, like Jefferson, Montgomery, and Mobile, were receiving the bulk of new migrants from abroad. Population increases from international migration helped offset the population decline from people moving from those central counties to surrounding suburban counties or to other states.

However, with the drop in international immigration in 2025, Jefferson and Mobile counties lost population in the latest estimates. In Jefferson County, international migration decreased by almost 2,500 compared to 2024. Nearly 3,000 Jefferson County residents moved to other counties or states in 2025. After accounting for natural change and net migration, Jefferson County’s population decreased by 843 residents. Similar trends led to an estimated population decrease of 535 in Mobile. Montgomery County’s natural increase, plus a decline in outmigration, kept its population about even, increasing by 2, according to the estimates.

Figure 3. Population Change and Migration Components, 2025

National Perspective

These population dynamics within metro areas are not unique to Alabama. In its analysis of 2025 data, the Census Bureau noted that among large metro areas, the fastest-growing counties tended to be on the outer edges, indicating a continuing trend toward suburbanization. Meanwhile, central counties tend to draw the greatest number of international migrants.

For example, the central counties in the Nashville and Atlanta metros also see a net outflow of domestic residents. However, in both those cases, those central counties still attracted enough international immigrants to offset domestic outmigration. And those counties also lie at the center of some of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the country.

Figure 4. USA Map of Population Change By Metropolitan Statistical Area, 2025

The decline in inflows of international residents depressed growth in central counties and slowed metropolitan growth rates nationwide. The Census Bureau noted that growth in metro areas declined sharply. Average MSA growth was 1.1% between 2023 and 2024, but fell to 0.6% between 2024 and 2025.

Population growth is occurring disproportionately in southern coastal counties and in metro areas in the south. According to Census:

• Geographically, many of the fastest-growing counties were in states along the Southeast coast of the United States, including Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia.
• Among counties with populations of 20,000 or more, nine of the top 10 fastest-growing counties were in the South, as were 45 out of the top 50.

Figure 5. USA Map by County of Rate of Change, 2025

Growth Spots

Madison County, home to Huntsville, continued to add more residents than any other county in Alabama. Growth from domestic migration increased in Madison County, which added more than 10,000 people, even as international immigration decreased.

Figure 6. Population Change and Migration Components, 2025

In neighboring Limestone County, growth tapered as international immigration decreased. However, in adding an estimated 3,285 residents, Limestone continued to rank among the nation’s fastest-growing counties with a 3.3% population increase in 2025. Together, Limestone and Madison County make up the Huntsville Metropolitan Statistical Area, which in 2025 was the nation’s 6th-fastest-growing MSA.

Figure 7. Percentage Population Change in Alabama MSAs

Alabama’s second-fastest-growing MSA consists of just Baldwin County and is officially known as the Daphne-Fairhope-Foley MSA. That MSA also continued to grow rapidly, as part of the growth pattern Census noted: people moving to southern counties along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts.

Despite Mobile County being right next door, Baldwin and Mobile are considered two separate MSAs. According to the Census Bureau’s analysis of commuting patterns, there is not enough daily interchange of populations between the two counties to consider them a single MSA. Mobile County’s population declined, in part due to a drop in international migration.

Figure 8. Numeric Change in Alabama MSAs

Alabama’s largest MSA is Birmingham, which now includes seven counties: Jefferson, Shelby, St. Clair, Blount, Walker, Chilton, and Bibb, with a population of 1.2 million people. That’s more than double the size of Huntsville, but Birmingham’s MSA is growing more slowly.

In 2025, the MSA added 3,450 people. Most of that growth occurred in Shelby County, which added 2,746 new residents, and St. Clair County, which added 1,160. That put both those counties in the Alabama top 10 for growth, both in pace of growth and number added. Walker, Bibb, and Chilton experienced modest gains. Together, that was enough to offset the decline in Jefferson and Blount counties.

The Auburn-Opelika MSA, which consists of Lee and Macon counties, grew by almost 2,000.

Dothan’s MSA, which includes Geneva, Houston, and Henry counties, added about 1,000 in total. Tuscaloosa County added almost 500 new residents, and Hale County added about 50, but the other two counties in the Tuscaloosa MSA, Greene and Pickens, lost population. So, in total, the four-county MSA was up by just over 300 residents.

Over in East Alabama, Etowah County, which makes up the Gadsden MSA, has posted positive growth for the past three years after several years of decline, adding 411 in 2025. Calhoun County, the Anniston-Oxford MSA grew in 2022 and 2023, but in 2024 and 2025, the estimates point to population decline, a decrease of 469 in 2025.

Huntsville MSA’s north Alabama neighbors in the Decatur and Florence-Muscle Shoals MSA’s grew modestly. In Decatur, Morgan, and Lawrence counties, each added about 200 new residents, a fourth straight year of growth. The Shoals, made up of Colbert and Lauderdale counties, have both been gathering steam in population growth during the current decade, though Lauderdale was estimated to have had a decline of 163 residents in 2025.

Overall, 36 Alabama counties gained population, but only 7 added more than 1,000 people; 31 counties saw population declines.

Rates of Change

The counties losing the population the fastest are in Alabama’s Black Belt. And that trend continued in 2025. Perry, Lowndes, Willcox, Dallas, and Greene counties have each lost 8% or more of their population since 2020. There are now five counties with fewer than 10,000 residents: Bullock, Wilcox, Lowndes, Perry, and Greene.

Figure 9. Rate of Change, Domestic Migration, 2025

Multiple factors are conspiring to drain population from rural Alabama counties. Rural counties also tend not to attract new immigrants from other counties. Domestic migration is also typically low to negative, with younger residents often moving to metropolitan counties where jobs are concentrated. As younger people move away in search of opportunity, the population becomes disproportionately old.

As the Baby Boom ages, that large cohort is beginning to experience increased mortality. As the average age increases, the death rate increases. And since younger people have tended to move to metros, the birth rate has declined.

Figure 10. Rate of Change, Death, 2025

The pattern isn’t confined to rural Alabama. It is also pronounced in the former coal country in the Appalachians, in the Mississippi Delta, and in portions of the West and Midwest.

Figure 11. USA Rate of Population Change by County

The average ACT score for 2025 Alabama public high school graduates decreased slightly compared to 2024, stalling what had been an incremental recovery from a post-Covid score drop. Nationwide, the average composite score was unchanged. Like in Alabama, the national average score remains below scores posted prior to the pandemic.

Printable PDF available here

Scores declined in all four tested subjects of the college readiness test. The average composite score for Alabama public high school graduates went from 17.9 to 17.8 on a 36-point scale. Pre-pandemic, Alabama’s scores peaked at 19.2 in 2017, which is also the year the national score peaked. Average ACT scores dropped by a full point between 2020 and 2022, before ticking back up in 2023 and 2024.

Significance

The ACT test is designed to measure a student’s readiness to successfully complete college-level coursework. According to ACT, earning a benchmark score “is associated with a 50% chance of earning a B or higher grade in typical first-year credit-bearing college courses. The Benchmarks also correspond to an approximate 75% chance of earning a C or higher grade in these courses.”

Earning a benchmark score on one subject of the ACT qualifies a student as college and career ready (CCR), one of several ways a high school student can be designated CCR under guidelines established by the Alabama Board of Education. All graduating students must earn at least one marker of college and career readiness. About 41% of seniors in the Class of 2025 scored above the college readiness benchmark in English, but only 16% scored college-ready in Math; 12% of seniors passed the benchmark in all four subjects.

The Pandemic’s Lingering Effects?

Both in Alabama and nationally, average ACT scores peaked around 2017 and were declining incrementally until a steep drop in the wake of the pandemic. Several factors may have contributed to the drop.

Some of the drop could be attributed to disrupted teaching and preparation practices. Students from the Class of 2025 would have been in 8th grade in 2021 and would have experienced disrupted, remote schooling that year. Eighth grade is a crucial transition year that introduces the more advanced courses offered in high school and colleges, the kind of academic skills that the ACT measures.

When that cohort took the state standardized test in 2021, its scores were significantly lower than those posted by the cohorts that followed.

All Alabama public high school students take the ACT in school during their junior year. When the Class of 2025 took the ACT in 2024, they didn’t perform as well as the previous class or the succeeding class.

Changes in Motivation and the Test-Taking Pool

The post-pandemic score shifts might also be due to changes in who is taking the test, how many times they take it, and their motivation for taking the test.

Many colleges and universities suspended requiring the ACT in the college admissions process, which decreased the number of students taking the test nationally and also decreased the number of times students took the test in order to improve their scores. Some students, particularly those seeking admission to competitive colleges, take the test multiple times during their junior and senior years. The scores reported in this dataset are based on the best score students achieved over multiple attempts at the test.

Data from ACT indicates that, in the wake of the pandemic, the percentage of Alabama students with scores in the lowest tier increased from 34% of students to 41%. Students in this lowest tier scored 15 or below. Traditionally, most colleges have required scores above 15 for admission. Average entering ACT scores range from 18-20 for regional universities to 25 or above for the state’s flagships. When the test was required, students who scored in the lowest band would have retaken the test in order to qualify for admission. With test-optional admissions, they are less motivated to retake the test.

Students’ motivations may soon change. Auburn and the University of Alabama system will resume requiring the ACT for Class of 2027 applicants. That’s part of a national trend as more colleges and universities return to using scores for admissions and scholarship awards.

Below State-Level

While economically disadvantaged students still posted lower scores, non-poverty students in Alabama lost more ground on the ACT than economically disadvantaged students between 2024 and 2025.

In each subject, the percentage of non-poverty students scoring at or above the college-ready benchmark declined compared to 2024.

System-Level

In general, suburban systems with low rates of economic disadvantage post the highest average ACT scale scores, but a handful of systems with elevated rates of economic disadvantage outperform. Piedmont City Schools, where 61% of students are economically disadvantaged, and Winfield City Schools, where 49% of students are economically disadvantaged, both placed in the top 10 in average scale scores.

School Level

At the school level, magnet schools also tend to generate high average ACT scale scores. Montgomery County’s Loveless Academic Magnet Program (LAMP) continues to lead the state. A Huntsville magnet, New Century High Technology High School, also places among the top five.

Most improved

Attalla City Schools showed the most improvement among school systems this year, with Scottsboro, Jacksonville, and Winfield city school systems and Winston and Clay County systems improving their average composite scores by 1 point or more.

Use the tabs to move between different views of the data and use the menus to focus in on the systems, schools, or subjects that you are most interested in.

Comparisons to other states

Alabama’s ACT scores should not be compared to the national average score. Across the country, the percentage of students who take the ACT varies widely by state. Alabama and eight other states use the ACT to test all public high school students. Six more states test more than 90% of students. Among those states, Alabama ranks ahead of Mississippi, Arizona, Oklahoma, and Nevada. In terms of the percentage of students scoring above the benchmark, Alabama is strongest in English and weakest in math.

Population growth in Alabama and across the country has slowed, particularly when it comes to immigrants coming from abroad, according to the latest estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. The estimates cover the period between July 2024 and July 2025.

Domestic migration into Alabama also decreased but remains higher compared to rates seen in the first two decades of the century. Due to an aging population and lower birth rates, deaths continue to outnumber births in the state. Thus, without in-migration, Alabama’s population would be declining modestly.

Printable PDF available here.

The Census Bureau estimates that by July 2025, Alabama was home to 5.2 million people, an increase of about 30,000 people or 1% compared to 2024. Alabama ranked No. 15 among U.S. states in population growth and No. 20 in percentage population increase over the period.

Even as growth slows, Southern states continued to outpace states in most other regions. South Carolina was No. 1 in rate of growth, and Texas was No. 1 in numeric population gain, adding almost 400,000 over the period. North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and Tennessee also ranked in the top 10 for numeric growth. Western states like Idaho, Utah, Washington, and Arizona were also leaders in population growth.

Five states saw population declines, according to the estimates: California, Hawaii, Vermont, New Mexico, and West Virginia.

In 2024, Alabama’s population growth had accelerated to its highest level in decades, adding almost 50,000, but in 2025, growth slowed, according to the estimates.

In 2025, Alabama attracted about 15,000 fewer people through migration. Deaths outpaced births by a slightly wider margin than in 2024.

International migration to Alabama dropped by 13,156, compared to 2024, while domestic migration was down by 1,595.

Despite the slower growth, Alabama’s rate of domestic migration ranked No. 11 in 2025. The domestic migration rate estimates the number of residents from other states moving into a state and adjusts for the receiving state’s population.

Meanwhile, Alabama’s rate of international immigration ranked No. 42 in the US. Historically, Alabama has attracted new residents from abroad at a lower rate than most other states. The most recent estimates capture the last seven months of the Biden administration and the first five months of the Trump administration.

After a surge of immigration in the early years of the Biden Administration, new policies drove down unauthorized crossings sharply in 2024. That trend has continued and accelerated under the Trump Administration, along with a decline in authorized immigration. Thus, the current decline in international immigration is likely to continue.

Alabama’s unemployment rate has been consistently below the U.S. rate since 2019, which appears to be attracting new residents from other states. Census estimates from last year show that population gains are concentrated in metro counties, particularly in North Alabama near Huntsville. Increasing numbers of retirees seeking a warm coastal climate continue to drive growth in Baldwin County on the Alabama Gulf Coast.

Meanwhile, Alabama’s rate of natural population change is weighed down by a higher death rate than most states. Alabama’s death rate is the fifth-highest in the U.S. Only West Virginia, Mississippi, Maine, and Arkansas have rates that are higher. These states tend to share characteristics like elevated poverty, poor health outcomes, and lower rates of access to health care providers.   

This spring, all Alabama high school graduates will have to earn a marker of college and/or career readiness in order to graduate.¹ 

In this installment of PARCA’s Keys to Success series, we visit Opp High School, which has been one of the state’s most successful schools at producing college and career-ready graduates. In fact, for five years running, more seniors were college or career-ready (CCR) than actually earned a diploma. 

In 2024, 94% of Opp’s seniors graduated (beating the state average of 92%), and 99% of seniors ended the year with a marker of college and career readiness, a CCR rate that is 10 percentage points higher than the state average. 

How do they do it?

• More attention per student thanks to small school size
• A close dual enrollment partnership with the local community college
• Creative use of practical, local opportunities for students to earn Career Technical Education credits and credentials
• Practice and deliberate effort on the measures that qualify students for college readiness

PARCA’s Keys to Success series identifies schools and systems that are exceeding expectations and explores how they are doing it. The series aims to identify and share best practices. 

Small Town Personalized Attention 

The City of Opp, located in rural Covington County, was formerly a textile mill town. Despite the closing of the textile mills, Opp has maintained a stable population of around 6,700 people since 2000. 

The school system produces between 80 and 90 graduates per year, which ranks among the 20 smallest school systems in the state. Opp’s percentage of students from economically disadvantaged households is higher than the state average. Thanks to federal anti-poverty education dollars, Opp’s per-student expenditure was slightly above the state average in 2023. 

In some ways, that small size helps Opp. The high school is the center of activity and energy for the entire community. That keeps students and the community engaged. 

“What is going on at school is the hottest thing in town. That is very much an asset for us,” said Opp High School Principal Matt Blake. 

A smaller school can, in some instances, mean each student receives extra attention. For example, in addition to a traditional guidance counselor, Opp High School has a full-time career coach, who works with the counselor, to make sure all students have a plan to progress through school on a trajectory that points toward one of the “three e’s”: graduating from high school, either Enrolled, Employed, or Enlisted.  

Student preparation for college and career readiness begins in middle school, with the career coach visiting students and making them aware of potential career pathways. During orientation, rising ninth graders and their parents are presented with career options, and students begin developing four-year plans to meet both academic and college- and career-readiness markers they’ll need to graduate.

Once at the high school, the counseling suite is highly visible, located at the top of the high school stairs, with glass windows for walls. The visibility serves as a reminder to students of the stream of opportunities available. Opp has a regular stream of visits from college, employment, and military recruiters. 

When Blake moved to Opp from Gulf Shores in 2022, he brought his career coach, Courtney Blake, with him. She also happens to be his wife. The two have creatively conspired to leverage resources to expose students to college and career opportunities.

Community College Collaboration

A primary partner in the CCR enterprise is Opp’s community college, the MacArthur branch of Lurleen B Wallace Community College (LBW).

In the past, more than half of Opp graduates flowed into LBW after graduation. More recently, the relationship is even tighter and starts earlier through dual enrollment. Opp students, while still in high school, make up a healthy share of the college’s enrollment. 

In fact, Opp now delivers all its college-caliber courses in partnership with LBW, rather than offering Advanced Placement courses at the high school. 

In the 2024-2025 school year, Opp students took almost 400 credit hours at LBW, including college-level courses in English and history, calculus, biology, and psychology. That total also included about 52 career tech classes, including industrial maintenance, engines, computer science, and cosmetology. Opp High School students also took aviation courses through Enterprise State Community College.

Some students attend classes on the LBW campus. In other cases, an LBW instructor may come to the high school campus to lead class two days a week, with students led by Opp teachers the other three days, who focus on ACT prep skills and strategies. Opp High School also has its own teachers who are certified to teach dual-enrollment classes on campus at OHS, but through LBW.

Both academic and career-tech courses taken through LBW count toward degrees or certifications. The academic courses can be transferred to universities, allowing Opp graduates to start college with a bank of credits toward a degree.

Taking Creative Advantage of Available Opportunities 

Opp isn’t a big city full of employers and businesses that can offer internships or sponsor training programs for high school students. But the Opp High has a tradition of Career and Technical Education programs that creatively intersect with school and community needs.  

Plant Science teacher, Josh Kyser, is a graduate of the turfgrass management program he now leads. After graduating from Opp, he continued in the field at Auburn, which led to a career in golf course management and design. 

Family ties eventually drew him back to Opp, and after a few twists and turns, he was recruited to serve as the City of Opp’s director of Parks and Recreation. The City maintains the high school’s fields, so he had a close relationship with the school. Eventually, high school leaders persuaded him to lead the program that had launched his career. 

The horticulture class helps care for the school’s athletic fields, which, over time, can lead to students earning turfgrass management and plant biotechnology certifications. Meanwhile, through a competitive grant program, Opp won extra career-tech funding to put students to work and in class during the summer on a school field project. 

The students worked with the City and the county on a project to grade and pave a road from the school to the athletic field. Through their summer work, the students earned money and certifications for operating skid steers, mini-excavators, and bulldozers. Those certifications have real value in the employment marketplace.

In another summer project, students in the plant biotechnology classes designed and constructed a pollinator garden. Students also planted and tended vegetable and herb gardens, projects that were also funded in part with CTE money won through a competitive grant.

This fall, that pollinator garden was fluttering with butterflies and darting with hummingbirds. The vegetable and herb gardens yielded beans, collards, Brussels sprouts, and other ingredients that contributed to a community banquet organized by the students in the food and nutrition program. 

In preparing for the event, students earned ServeSafe certifications, a credential often required for those working in the restaurant industry. The preparation and execution also dovetailed with nutrition science course credits.

Increasing College Readiness

Opp High School has also ramped up student preparation for four-year colleges, focusing on improving performance on the ACT college admissions test. 

Historically, most college-bound Opp graduates started at a community college, then transferred to four-year universities after earning college credits.

With the sharp rise in students taking community college courses in high school, students are in a better position to go straight to a four-year college after graduation. However, that means ACT scores take on more importance for college admission and scholarships.   

Blake, who spent time as a football coach, recognizes the value of practice. 

So, in his effort to improve student performance on the ACT, Blake created more opportunities for students to take the test. The school pays for ninth-graders to take the Pre-ACT, in addition to administering it to 10th-graders in the fall. 

The school then offers students a first attempt at the ACT in the spring semester of their 10th-grade year.

In January, teachers begin reviewing the test and have students take a mock version of the ACT. 

They take mock versions again in February. Using a digital test reader, students receive immediate results. Teachers identify questions that tripped up students and talk through the answers, and address the underlying skill.

Students participate in a two-day ACT boot camp. The school brings in an ACT specialist in Math and ELA to lead a two-day intensive review before the last mock exam. This allows students to use the strategies and tips from the last mock exam to build confidence in their abilities. 

In late March, juniors take the real test, the required junior year administration.

Blake concedes that he has greatly increased the emphasis on the ACT. However, he doesn’t think that emphasis distracts from educational goals. “Test-taking skills aren’t frivolous,” he said. “It teaches problem-solving and critical thinking. And they’ll have to take similar tests in college or if they apply to graduate school.”

Results

Between 2023 and 2024, the percentage of students earning a benchmark score on the ACT leapt from 34% in 2023 to 52% in 2024, exceeding the state benchmarking rate of 42%

The Opp graduating class of 2024 posted major gains on the ACT in every subject, outperforming the state in all four subjects.

The college-going rate in Opp rose from 62% in 2022 to 68% in 2024, far exceeding the state college-going rate of 57%. 

The gains were particularly pronounced in the percentage of students who went straight to a four-year college after graduating from high school, rising from 10% in 2022 to 31% in 2024. 

Conclusion

Blake said Opp’s success has resulted from long-term planning by the school, students, the system, and the state.

The school works with students and parents, beginning in middle school, to chart a student’s path through choices and courses that lead to a college or career goal. The school works with local partners such as LBW Community College, Opp’s Mizell Memorial Hospital, and the City of Opp to expand work and internship opportunities for students.

The school also works with the system and the state to pay for enhanced opportunities. The school has been aggressive and creative in pursuing grants and establishing budget priorities in order to pay for novel CTE programs, summer work opportunities, and intensive ACT training for faculty and students.

As the requirement that all students earn a CCR credential goes into effect this fall, the State Department of Education and the governor’s office have indicated continued support for enhanced investment in College and Career Readiness. The Governor’s proposed budget maintains support for career coaches and for K-12 career tech programs and initiatives. The budget proposes increasing support for dual enrollment through the Alabama Community College System by $10 million. The Legislature will consider the budget during its session, which opened earlier this month.

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Footnotes

1. In order to demonstrate college and career readiness, a student must achieve one of the following:
   1. Score college-ready in at least one subject on the ACT
   2. Score at the silver level or above on the WorkKeys Assessment.
   3. Earn a passing score on an Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate Exam.
   4. Successfully earn a Career Technical Education credential or earn Career and Technical Education (CTE) completer status.
   5. Earn dual enrollment credit at a college or university.
   6. Successfully enlist in the military.
   7. Complete a CTE program of study.
   8. Complete an in-school youth apprenticeship. ↩︎

A federally required change in reporting on student race and ethnicity in Alabama public schools has led to a precipitous drop in the reported number and percentage of Hispanic students enrolled in Alabama public schools in the 2025-2026 school year.

However, at the same time, the new reporting procedure led to a sharp increase in the number of students of “Two or more races.” A new reporting form invites respondents to check all the racial and ethnic identities that apply.

Printable PDF available here.

Because of the classification change, it is unclear from the publicly reported data whether Hispanic enrollment rose or fell. Alabama State Department of Education officials said that the number of students who checked the Hispanic box increased by about 1,000 statewide. In past years, Hispanic enrollment had grown more rapidly.

Overall, K-12 public school enrollment was down by 6,911 compared to the previous school year. Among subgroups, the number of students identifying as Hispanic dropped by 56,196, while the number identifying as Two or more races climbed by 52,627. The combined total of the two groups dropped 3,569 between 2025 and 2026. The number of White students also dropped by 5,158. Meanwhile, the number of Asian Students, Black Students, Native American students, and students of other races or ethnicities increased.

According to the data tabulations made to comply with federal reporting guidelines, only 4% of Alabama schoolchildren are classified as Hispanic in the 2025-2026 school year. That compares to 12% of students in the previous year. Meanwhile, the percentage of students identified as two or more races jumped to 11% in 2025-2026 school year, up from 4% the previous year.

Administrative Change

In March, the Alabama State Department of Education issued a memo and new forms describing changes made to comply with new standards published by the Office of Management and Budget in March of 2024. The OMB directive came after a public input process and consultation with experts. The aim was to gather detailed information on the form, allowing individuals to choose a combination of racial and/or ethnic identities. The ONB directive also noted that racial and ethnic categories are “sociopolitical constructs” and when multiple identities are checked one “reporting categories be treated co-equally.”

Previously, the forms asked individuals two separate questions. The first was about ethnicity: whether the student was or was not Hispanic/Latino.

A second separate question asked about racial identity, with options like Black, White, Asian, American Indian or Alaska Native, or Native Hawaiian, or Other Pacific Islander.

The new form asks a single question but allows the respondent to check more than one box. It also adds “Middle Eastern or North African,” as an option.

Hispanics and Latinos vary in how they identify themselves. In addition to their Hispanic identity, they may identify as White, Black, or Native American. Apparently, many of them checked more than one box. As a result, those who checked more than one box were assigned to the “Two or More Races” category in the tabulations produced for federal reporting of education data. Local school systems are responsible for gathering and reporting demographic data to the state.

Generational Changes

Regardless of the classification change, the long-running trend in Alabama public schools is toward greater diversity. The number and percentage of white students in the public schools have been trending down for decades, mostly due to natural change in population.

The Millennial Generation, a larger cohort of students who were the children of the Baby Boom Generation, began entering schools in the late 1980s. This generation and their Baby Boomer parents before them were disproportionately white. The impact of this larger cohort of students peaked in the late 1990s, and the Millennials began exiting schools in the 2000s.

A smaller cohort of students followed them. Generation Z, the children of Generation X. Generation X was a smaller generation and consequently produced fewer children than their Baby Boomer predecessors. In addition to sheer numbers, there has been a long-running trend toward later marriage and fewer children, which continues to put downward pressure on the rate of natural increase.

Changes through Migration

Meanwhile, those declines in natural change have been partially offset by the increase in population through international and domestic migration into the state. As a result, as the number and percentage of white students declined, the number and percentage of Hispanic students grew. Over time, public school enrollment in the state has been relatively stable.

In the late 1990s, about 63% of students in Alabama schools were white, and 36% were black. Today, just under 50% of students are white, and 32% of students are Black.

Meanwhile, Hispanic enrollment went from less than 1% of students in the late 1990s to 12% of enrollment in 2024-2025. Two or more races made up about 4% of enrollment in 2024-2025. In the 2025-2026 school year, two or more races jumped to almost 12%, while Hispanic decreased to 4%.

The visualization below is not precise. It builds on data that is redacted by the state. Small demographic populations of students aren’t reported. Also, categories have changed over time. However, the visualization captures the broad outlines of the trend.

Changes by System

Some school systems that reported the highest percentages of Hispanic students in 2025 saw a plunge in the percentage of students identifying as Hispanic. Systems like Albertville, Tarrant, and Boaz saw their Hispanic population percentage drop 40 or 50 percentage points, while their Two or more races percentage increased by an offsetting amount. In Albertville, for example, 60% of students were Hispanic in 2024-2025, but only 11% were identified as Hispanic in 2025-2026.  Albertville’s Student enrollment declined by 207.

Many large systems in urban and suburban areas saw the largest numerical decline in students. Mobile and Jefferson both saw a decline of more 1,000 students compared to last year. Birmingham City, and Montgomery, Baldwin, and Shelby County systems saw enrollment dips of more than 300 students; 111 of the 155 school systems and Charter schools saw overall student enrollment declines. Again, because of the change in the demographic data collection, it is unclear how much of the decline is due to the departure of Hispanic students.

Another factor potentially weighing on public school enrollment is the Choose Act, a state of Alabama program that uses a refundable tax credit subsidy to support students attending private schools. According to an analysis by al.com, about three-quarters of the 23,429 recipients of Choose Act scholarships were already enrolled in private schools. However, 3,032 of the students awarded Choose ACT scholarship support for private schools in 2025-2026 had been enrolled in public schools in 2024-2025.

While the Choose Act may affect the dynamics, private school enrollment has decreased over the long term, according to U.S. Department of Education statistics. In 2009, 95,570 students attended private schools in Alabama, prekindergarten through 12th grade, according to the survey-based estimates.

In 2021, the latest year available, 75,050 students were enrolled in private elementary and secondary schools. Over the shorter term, private schools in Alabama enrolled 70,840 students in 2017. That number climbed to 76,430 in 2019 but fell back to 75,050 in 2021.

Using the tabs and menus in the visualization, you can look for the demographic makeup of your local school system and schools.

More Alabama public high school graduates than ever are going to four-year colleges directly after graduation, according to the most recent figures provided by the Alabama Commission on Higher Education (ACHE). The picture for two-year colleges is different: a smaller percentage of high school graduates are enrolling in two-year colleges after graduation, but far more of those high school graduates have already taken classes in the community college system during high school through dual enrollment.

Printable PDF available here.

ACHE, the state’s higher education coordinating agency, gathers data from Alabama colleges and universities, tracking enrollment, graduation rates, and a multitude of other statistics. To provide the college-going statistics, ACHE works with data from K-12 schools and data obtained through the National Student Clearinghouse. Clearinghouse data tallies the graduates enrolled in higher education, whether at four-year universities or two-year colleges, whether they go in-state or out-of-state, to private or public schools. The most recent data captures the graduating class of 2024.

In the class of 2024, the number and percentage of recent graduates going to four-year schools are now higher than in any year since ACHE began providing the data. Two-year enrollment among recent graduates increased in 2024 but remains well below the levels seen before the pandemic.

Public universities, both in-state and out-of-state, have experienced most of the enrollment growth among recent graduates. More students are attending private schools out of state as well, but enrollment at Alabama private colleges is down.

Community College Changes

Since 2019, far fewer high school graduates have been enrolling in two-year colleges immediately after graduation.

However, during the same period the number of high school students taking courses at community colleges has more than doubled. Dual enrollment, which allows high school students to take courses and earn both high school and college credit at the same time, is booming. According to ACHE, fewer than 15,000 students were participating in dual enrollment in 2020; by 2024 nearly 30,000 were.

In 2024, 34% of community college enrollment was dual enrollment. At some community colleges, over half the students are high school students taking courses through dual enrollment.

The addition of all those dual enrollment students has led to a record-high headcount enrollment at two-year colleges.

Dual enrollment has also increased at four-year colleges. Though more modestly. Still, at some universities — Auburn University Montgomery, the University of Montevallo, Jacksonville State, and the University of North Alabama — dual enrollment accounted for 10% or more of overall enrollment in 2024-2025.

Context of Change

First, consider the following facts when evaluating trends in college-going. Back in 2014, only 86% of high school seniors graduated. Now more than 90% do. The state produces about 5,000 additional graduates each year as a result of the higher graduation rate. However, the percentage of those graduates entering higher education declined, and the number of graduates not enrolling has increased. However, with the Class of 2024, the number of graduates entering higher education increased, and the number not enrolling decreased compared to 2022 (data for the Class of 2023 are not available). Also, the number of public high school graduates is down.

Another factor depressing the college-going rate: Beginning in 2019, Alabama’s unemployment rate dropped below the national unemployment rate. Aside from the sharp spike during the pandemic, unemployment in Alabama has remained under 4%, dropping as low as 2%. When the job market is strong, community college enrollment tends to be lower, as high school graduates are lured straight into the workforce.

A third factor. The pandemic caused a drop in community college enrollment across the country. Community colleges have been slower to recover than four-year colleges.

A final factor. Throughout the period, Alabama high schools have been asked to focus on increasing the number of their graduates who are demonstrably college-and career-ready. One of the primary ways they do this is through dual enrollment at a community college and/or career-technical training. The increasing interaction with the two-year college system during high school may position more graduates to enter four-year colleges or the workforce directly.

Other Basic Facts

Most college-bound Alabama public high school graduates enroll in a public college in the state of Alabama: 88% stay in the state of Alabama for higher education; 12 percent of graduates go to college out of state. Choosing between public and private colleges, 92% go to a public college vs. 8% to private colleges.

Across Alabama, school systems differ in where their graduates enroll after high school. According to the National Student Clearinghouse data, 93% of Mountain Brook High School graduates go to 4-year colleges, while 4% enrolled in two-year colleges, producing the highest college-going rate in the state.

Meanwhile, the Guntersville School System also ranks in the top 10 of systems when it comes to college-going, but it sends 40% of its graduates to two-year colleges, while 36% enroll at four-year colleges in the year after graduation. Using the tabs above the visualizations and the menus included in the visualization, you can explore the results for school systems and schools you are interested in.

Tax revenues flowing into Alabama state government returned to a more normal rate of growth in 2025, after several years of unusually high gains. Revenue flowing into both the General Fund and the Education Trust Fund grew at about the rate of inflation.

A combination of unusual conditions, including historically low unemployment and an unprecedented level of Covid-relief and economic stimulus sent to the state by the federal government, produced large surges in collections. Inflation, wage growth, and high interest rates on state deposits have continued to keep revenue growth elevated, but are expected to continue to taper in FY 2026.

PARCA’s report Alabama State Tax Collections, 2025: Increases, Decreases and Trends in the Revenues Supporting the State Government provides a full exploration of 2025 tax collections, the factors that drove those collections, and what current trends indicate for the future. You can also explore an interactive version of the data in the visualization below.

Click the link above for the full report, or view below.

Alabama students continued steady improvement in English and math across all grade levels on the state’s suite of standardized tests, the Alabama Comprehensive Assessment Program (ACAP).

The tests are given in the spring to students in public schools statewide, grades 3-8.

Across all grades, 60% of students tested proficient in English Language Arts (ELA), 42% of students scored proficient in science, and 35% in Math.  

Figure 1. Average proficiency levels of all grades, all subjects, compared by year. Reference bar indicates state average.  

The percentage of students scoring proficient climbed at every grade level except for 4th-grade science, where the percentage of proficient students declined by one percentage point.

Figure 2. Average proficiency levels, all grade levels, all subjects, compared by year. Reference bar indicates state average. 

The strongest gains were in 3rd and 4th-grade math, where the proficiency rate increased more than three percentage points, and in 7th-grade ELA, which climbed more than five percentage points. Fifth-grade ELA also showed a higher percentage gain, climbing more than four percentage points.

Figure 3. Change in proficiency in all grades, all subjects, compared by year 

Proficiency rose across all demographic subgroups, though score gaps between racial, ethnic, and economic subgroups remain wide.   

Figure 4. Comparison of average proficiency, by subgroup, by year

Across all grades and subjects, the average proficiency rate for students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds was 29 percentage points lower than for other students.

Figure 5. Comparison of proficiency rates, 2025, economically disadvantaged and non-economically disadvantaged students

Because of that score gap, comparisons between schools or systems should always consider the levels of economic disadvantage of the schools in the comparison. In general, schools and systems with higher rates of economic disadvantage have lower average proficiency rates. However, systems with similar rates of economic disadvantage can have very different proficiency rates. Systems above the line of prediction in Figure 6 are performing better than average, considering the system’s level of economic disadvantage.

Figure 6. Poverty vs. Proficiency, Alabama public school systems, all subjects, all grades

Using the tabs and menus in the visualizations, you can focus on systems, schools, subjects, and grade levels of interest.

This is the first in our new Keys to Success series. The series spotlights schools and school systems that outperform their peers or show remarkable improvement and asks, “What is driving performance, and what can be replicated?” The series is supported by the generosity of Bedsole Foundation, Charles & Estelle Campbell Foundation, Daniel Foundation, Hugh Kaul Foundation, Mike & Gillian Goodrich Foundation, Robert Meyer Foundation, Susan Mott Web Foundation, and Wells Fargo Foundation.

Wilcox County Schools have the highest rate of economic disadvantage in the state, with 91% of students automatically qualifying for a free school lunch.

Yet, in spite of economic disadvantage, Wilcox County third graders were among the state’s top performers on this spring’s reading test, with 96% of students clearing the benchmark for grade-level promotion.

By the end of the summer literacy camp, all Wilcox students had passed the test.

ABC Elementary principal Cherylrettia Bennett finds motivation in beating the odds.

“For me, it’s a challenge. I like to be considered the underdog. We instill high expectations in our kids, and that spreads into the homes of our parents, and into the communities in which we serve,” she said. “We are not the bottom of the barrel. We are the cream of the crop.”

Schools with high concentrations of economically disadvantaged students tend to post lower scores on standardized tests than schools where economic disadvantage is not as concentrated. Across multiple measures, the rate of economic disadvantage among students tends to predict performance.

But in the case of 3^rd grade reading results, Alabama schools and school systems are beginning to disrupt this relationship between economic disadvantage and reading results. Over 90% of students at each of the three Wilcox County Elementary Schools scored at or above the reading sufficiency benchmarks; 90% or more were from economically disadvantaged households.

Wilcox County wasn’t the only system achieving high rates of reading sufficiency, despite high rates of economic disadvantage. Neighboring school systems in Selma City and Lowndes County both have economic disadvantage rates near 90%. Both systems saw 90% or more of their third graders scoring at or above the reading proficiency benchmark.

In three other systems—Daleville City, and the Butler and Clarke county systems—more than three-quarters of the students are from economically disadvantaged schools, but 90% tested ready for promotion on the reading portion of the Alabama Comprehensive Assessment Program (ACAP).

Statewide, 35 schools with economic disadvantage rates of 75% or higher had 90% or more of their students testing above the benchmark.

What’s Working

PARCA’s visit to Wilcox County begins a project to understand what drives successes like these. It’s an important moment to identify factors that produce better results for students.

Schools have had an unprecedented level of financial support in recent years. Schools are in the final stages of spending the surge of federal spending aimed at overcoming the effects of school closures during the Covid-19 pandemic.   

Thanks to a surge in state revenue and commitment by the Alabama Legislature, schools have seen unprecedented investment and effort in improving reading instruction since the passage, in 2019, of the Alabama Literacy Act.

The Act and the Legislature’s follow-up investment have re-energized a statewide corps of reading support specialists and building-based reading coaches in every elementary school. Teachers across the state have been retrained in reading instruction, adopting approaches grounded in the science of reading.

The Legislature and the Governor’s Office have also provided extra funding for schools like those in Wilcox, where there are high rates of economic disadvantage and a history of underperformance. The State Department of Education has provided focused support from academic specialists to local educators in those schools.

There is evidence that sustained investment in proven strategies is paying dividends. In the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress, Alabama and Louisiana were the only two states where students scored higher in 4th-grade reading than 4th-grade students did prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

PARCA recently interviewed Wilcox County’s superintendent, Dr. Andre’ Saulsberry, and the principals, teachers, and reading coaches at Wilcox County’s three elementary schools about the factors that contributed to their success.

Starting Early

The recent success is built on years of effort, said Saulsberry, effort that starts with reaching children in their earliest years so that they come into kindergarten ready to learn.

Wilcox County, with support from the Department of Early Childhood Education, became the first county where Alabama’s First Class Pre-K was available to all students who wanted it. Wilcox teachers and administrators credit Pre-K with preparing students socially so that they entered Kindergarten ready to learn.

Wilcox County also offers Head Start for three-year-olds and has applied to start Head Start for 2-year-olds.

The interest in early childhood education isn’t new. Eleven years ago, Wilcox began participating in the HIPPY program, which provides home visits to parents of children between the ages of 2 and 5. The program provides parents with parenting strategies and resources for beginning the educational journey in the home, realizing that parents are the first teachers.     

According to Saulsberry, years of cultivation have produced a climate in which parents are active and informed participants in their children’s educational journey. Saulsberry said it is especially gratifying to have fathers interested, informed, and engaged, something he didn’t use to see.  “We are reaping the benefits of investments we made years ago,” Saulsberry said.  

Principal as Instructional Leader of an Instructional Team

Wilcox County Elementary Schools are led by professionals who know how to teach reading and can model it for others.

Two principals were reading coaches before taking over as principals. The third was an elementary reading teacher and completed the state-sponsored training in the science of reading, known as LETRS. All three then received a second round of LETRS-training, a version geared towards administrators.

With their own classroom experience and with all that training and coaching, the principals know what good teaching looks like. They all regularly visit classrooms and observe their teachers in action. Afterwards, they offer praise and suggestions when merited and will sometimes take a turn at the front of the classroom if modeling a lesson would help.

Each school’s reading coach also collaborates with K-3 teachers to analyze student data, target instruction, and improve technique. The coaches strive for a relationship with teachers that is not perceived as evaluation but as collaboration and support. According to Saulsberry, all K-3 teachers in Wilcox were LETRS-trained.

In fact, much of the elementary school faculty in Wilcox County is LETRS-trained since many of the teachers now teaching in grades 4-6 started out teaching in the earlier grades. Reading interventionists and Special Education teachers are also trained in LETRS.

Hobbs Elementary Principal Vernita Lassiter said LETRS training and the state’s support have been helpful, but the most effective professional development is when Wilcox County faculty members start learning from one another.

“The most beneficial professional development, where we got the most buy-in, was when it was coming from peers.  We know we are in the same shoes. We feed off each other,” she said.

The schools hold faculty and staff retreats to dive deep into their data and plans. Teaching has changed, they said. It is more collaborative, and lessons are more mapped to a progressive set of academic standards that build on each other from year to year.

Student Data – drawn from classwork, formative assessments, and practice ACAP tests – gives teachers and coaches greater insight into what piece of the reading puzzle is frustrating a student. Their assessment tool, Aimsweb, helps monitor student progress and flag students who might need evaluation for dyslexia. With more information, interventions can be targeted.

Bennett said the team involves everyone at the school, not just the faculty and staff, but also the bus drivers and cafeteria staff. The school’s prominently displayed continuous improvement plan has four goals: to increase student academic proficiency, decrease discipline issues, increase attendance, and engage parents and the community. Strategies and measures support those goals, and everyone has a role to play.

Small Schools: Extra Help

One factor working in their favor was size. Wilcox County, like many rural counties in Alabama, has steadily lost population over time as economic activity has become increasingly focused in urbanized metropolitan counties. The overall population decline has led to fewer students in the Wilcox County School System.

However, the system has, to some extent, turned that into an advantage, keeping class sizes low and seeing that each student gets the specialized attention they need.

ABC Elementary had only 12 students enrolled in its 3^rd grade class; F.S. Ervin Elementary, 21; and J.E. Hobbs Elementary, 41. That’s a total of just over seventy students across the system. Like every elementary school in the state, each of the Wilcox schools had a full-time K-3 Reading coach.

And last year, there was more instructional help beyond that. Two of the schools—ABC and Hobbs Elementary Schools—were designated by Gov. Kay Ivey as Governor’s Turnaround Schools. Those schools, two of 15 statewide, received extra funding and additional instructional support from state experts. Both schools used the extra money to put an extra trained teacher’s aide in each K-2 classroom and to provide an additional teacher’s aide per grade level, from 3rd to 6th. Hobbs also employed two academic interventionists.

Ervin and ABC shared a speech pathologist, while Hobbs had one of their own.

Ervin, which didn’t have access to the turnaround funds, devised a creative solution for providing students with extra support. The school built an extra ACAP-focused period into the schedule. During that period, students left their regular classrooms to work with a different teacher who could provide a fresh perspective in an area where each student was struggling. It worked like specialized small-group tutoring.

With small classes and extra personnel, students could receive more individualized evaluations and help.

This year, Wilcox has been informed that the Wilcox Schools are being phased out of the turnaround program. So, the system won’t be bringing back those extra-paraprofessionals they’d added. Some of the personnel are being transitioned to other roles. Regardless, the system will have to do more with less.

That doesn’t discourage Saulsberry. He feels like he has built a well-trained team that has seen that they and their students can meet high expectations.

Saulsberry said that small classes are advantageous, but the essential ingredient is a well-trained teacher. A larger class with high-quality instruction is preferable to a small class led by an uninspired teacher.  

Stable, rooted, and trained faculty and staff

It is challenging to recruit and retain teachers in rural school districts. Saulsberry said many young teachers from elsewhere don’t apply or, if they are hired, don’t persist.

“They want to be near a mall or Walmart. We don’t have that to offer,” he said.

But as a counter strategy, Wilcox likes finding teacher candidates who will build a career in the system. Wilcox County natives, whether they graduated with teaching degrees or not, make good candidates. They know what they are getting into and tend to be committed to the community. Even if their college degree is in a different field, a recruited prospect can receive the on-the-job training and experience needed to get their teaching certificate.

Saulsberry said some of his best teachers didn’t come through the traditional teacher training route. He used Governor’s Turnaround Funding to hire Professional Development Services, LLC, a Montgomery-based educational consulting firm, to help those teachers learn classroom management and instructional techniques they lacked.

Wilcox teachers are rooted in the community. Of the 10 faculty members who gathered recently to talk about Wilcox County’s success in reading, all but one grew up in Wilcox County. The one exception is married to a Wilcox County native. The system’s superintendent is a Wilcox County native and has spent 10 years in his post, a long term of service for a superintendent. 

ABC Elementary Principal Cherylrettia Bennett said she knows her students’ grandparents because she went to school with them. She also knows the kids’ parents because they were her students when she was a teacher. That connection provides insight into a child’s context and gives her contacts and credibility when speaking to the family.

Priscilla Lett, a third-grade teacher at ABC, said parents knew they’d get a call from her any time a child was absent or late. Parents realized she cared, and they responded with a deeper feeling of accountability. “If Miss Lett cares that much about their education, I need to start caring more because I don’t want anyone to care more about my babies’ education than I do.”

Community Involvement

All three elementary schools stressed the importance of involving parents and the community in inspiring and supporting students to meet high expectations.

Parents were asked to write notes of encouragement for their children that were posted on the school walls. During morning announcements, community leaders or football and basketball coaches would challenge students to perform academically.

Local businesses provided gift certificates to teachers to show their appreciation.

The Parent-Teacher Organization found ways of motivating students, like providing ice cream treats and holding special fun days.

Jaserica Angion, a 3^rd grade teacher Hobbs, said she could see the children light up when they got encouragement and attention. And because other people believed in them, they believed in themselves.

“I set high expectations from day one,” she said. “They were really competitive and collaborative. And they reached those expectations.”