The top reported proficiency rate is 38% in English language arts. The lowest is 8% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Green Acres Middle School
Green Acres Middle School, located in the Ensley neighborhood of Birmingham, serves students in sixth through eighth grade as a regular public school within the Birmingham City Schools district. The school has a relatively small enrollment for a middle school, with far more students in seventh and eighth grade than in sixth. A substantial majority of the student body is Black, and a smaller share identifies as Hispanic. A very large share of students, essentially the entire enrollment, qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a high-poverty school environment. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not reported in the available records, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about the supports available for those students.
The most defining feature of Green Acres Middle School is its academic performance, which is low across nearly every measured subject. In mathematics, proficiency rates are in the single digits or low teens, depending on the grade, and in science for eighth graders, proficiency is also very low. English language arts shows a more mixed picture: roughly two in five students met the proficiency benchmark in sixth and seventh grade, but performance dropped noticeably by eighth grade. When placed alongside other school districts in Jefferson County, the school’s overall proficiency across all tested subjects and grades sits below the midpoint of the comparison set. That is a difficult starting point for any family evaluating the school. Only a single year of state testing data was available, so it is not possible to see whether these results represent a long-term trend or a recent shift. A parent should consider that no prior year’s results were reported with this data and may want to ask the school or district for historical context.
Because Green Acres is a middle school without a high school graduating class, there is no graduation rate to consider. The school’s academic profile is defined entirely by its state assessment outcomes. The data do not include information about course access, such as whether advanced or accelerated offerings exist for middle schoolers, nor about staffing levels or teacher qualifications. Programs and extracurriculars were also not listed in the available records. A family interested in the depth of the academic program, including any opportunities for enrichment or intervention, will need to seek that information directly from the school.
Located in Birmingham, Green Acres sits within a large and complicated city that functions as a major regional center for healthcare, banking, and higher education. Birmingham has seen gradual population decline in the city limits over the last several years, and the Birmingham City Schools district has been managing a long-term drop in enrollment, leading to a school consolidation plan approved in 2023 that merges some schools and repurposes buildings. The district also opened a new Career Tech Academy in 2023 for high school students, though that facility is not directly relevant to a middle school. Housing values in the school’s ZIP code are well below national and state benchmarks, and rents are modest, making the area among the more affordable parts of the Birmingham region. The housing market has seen small price growth in the past year, while rents have decreased slightly. For a middle-income household nationally, buying a home here would be far cheaper than the national median, and renting would also be below typical costs.
For a family considering Green Acres Middle School, the central question is how a student would be supported in an environment where academic proficiency rates are very low, especially in math and science. The school’s ELA results in sixth and seventh grade suggest that some students are meeting grade-level standards in reading, but the overall picture is one of a school that faces steep challenges. A parent may want to investigate what interventions, tutoring, or academic support programs are in place and how the school approaches instruction for students who are not yet proficient. The district’s focus on the Alabama Literacy Act and reading intervention is a specific area to ask about, as that state mandate applies directly to the grades served. The lack of data on special education and English learner services is another gap a family should fill by speaking with school staff. The school’s size and location within Birmingham may appeal to families who want a neighborhood school and a shorter commute, but the academic profile gives a clear and sobering picture of where the school stands today.
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