The top reported proficiency rate is 25% in English language arts. The lowest is 2% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Maef Public Charter Schools
MAEF Public Charter Schools operates as a public school district in Mobile County, serving students from prekindergarten through twelfth grade. The district is composed of two schools: Acceleration Day and Evening Academy and Acceleration Preparatory Academy. Enrollment is concentrated in the middle and high school grades, with a notable drop at the upper end. The student body is predominantly Black, with a very small share of white, Hispanic, multiracial, and other backgrounds. Data on students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, receive special education services, or are learning English was not available. That information would help a parent understand the level of economic and academic support the student population typically requires.
Academically, the district’s state testing results stand as a central concern. On the 2024-25 Alabama ACAP assessments, proficiency rates in math were in the very low single digits for grades six, seven, and eight. In English language arts, the district’s rates fell around the one-fifth to one-quarter mark across those same grades, and in eighth-grade science, proficiency was slightly above one-tenth. When measured across all tested subjects and grades for a combined proficiency index, the district placed in the bottom quartile among Mobile County’s seven districts. A family looking at these results would want a clear picture of how instruction and intervention are structured, and they might also ask how many students took the test, as small-group results can vary significantly from year to year.
The district’s chronic absenteeism rate, which captures the share of students missing a substantial number of school days, sat below the midpoint among the few county districts for which data was reported. That places it in a middle ground rather than at an extreme. Per-pupil spending was in the upper range among those same districts, a factor that can reflect investment in support services, smaller class sizes, or operational costs tied to the district’s particular model.
A major structural change is publicly reported. In 2023, MAEF was the only organization in Alabama to receive a U.S. Department of Education Full-Service Community Schools Grant, a five-year award that reorients the district’s schools into community hubs. The model integrates health care, mental health services, mentoring, postsecondary training, and family engagement partners directly into the school setting. That grant represents a lasting shift in how services are organized and delivered, not a short-term program. For a parent, this matters because the school experience may differ from a traditional district in the frequency of outside partners, the availability of on-site supports, and the way the school day connects to community resources.
A graduation rate was not available, so there is no measure of how many students finish high school in four years. That gap may reflect the district’s structure or reporting, but a parent looking for assurance about outcomes after middle school will not find it in the data here. The district serves students across a wide grade span, and families considering the later years may want to ask directly about completion rates and postsecondary pathways.
For a parent, this is a place defined by its academic challenge and its ambitious redesign. The test results are low by every available comparison, which is the reality of the current picture. The Full-Service Community Schools approach is a deliberate response to that reality, one that addresses nonacademic barriers as part of the school day. That model appeals to families who want a wraparound approach and are comfortable with a school in transition. A parent focused primarily on current test performance will find few of the usual markers of grade-level proficiency. A parent who values a community-school model and wants to understand what that looks like in practice would want to visit the campuses, meet the partner providers, and see the integration for themselves.
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