The top reported proficiency rate is 76% in English language arts. The lowest is 54% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on White Plains Elementary School
White Plains Elementary School serves roughly 550 students from pre-kindergarten through fourth grade, making it one of the larger elementary schools in its grade band in the Anniston area. It sits just outside the city core on Alabama Highway 9 and is part of the Calhoun County school district, not the city of Anniston’s own system. That distinction matters to a family deciding where to live: the school draws from the unincorporated White Plains community and surrounding parts of eastern Calhoun County rather than from Anniston proper.
The student body is predominantly white, with a Hispanic population that represents a notable share and a smaller but present Black population. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating that economic need is a significant reality at this school. The school does not report its count of students with disabilities or English learners in the available data, so a parent of a child receiving special education services or language support should check directly with the school about how those programs are structured.
Academically, White Plains Elementary turns in a mixed picture that leans toward strength in literacy. In the most recent state assessment, which is the only year of testing data available, third-grade reading proficiency was comfortably above the school’s own overall average. Fourth-grade reading was still solid but lower than third grade. Math proficiency was weaker in both grades, with about half of fourth graders meeting the bar. Science testing is administered only at fourth grade, and just over half of students scored proficient. Across all subjects and grades, White Plains’ overall proficiency index places it among the top schools in Calhoun County when compared to other schools in the district.
What is harder to assess from the available data is whether these results represent a stable pattern or a single-year snapshot. There is only one year of assessment data to work with, so there is no way to tell if the school’s performance is improving, declining, or holding steady. A parent who wants a sense of year-over-year trends should ask the school or the district for prior years’ results.
The school’s pre-K through fourth grade span means there are no state test results for the earliest grades, no graduation rate, and no high school course offerings to consider. That is a feature of the grade band, not an absence of programming. A family choosing this school will be thinking about the early elementary years only; the district’s middle and high schools would be the next step.
The housing market around White Plains Elementary reflects a broader affordability story that the city of Anniston is known for. Home values in the school’s zip code are below the national median and below the state median, and rents are modest. That combination, along with the area’s reputation as one of the most affordable places in the country, makes this a realistic option for families who prioritize lower housing costs over the amenities of a more expensive market. Anniston itself has seen population decline from its mid-century peak and is working through a deliberate downtown revitalization effort, anchored by the Chief Ladiga Trail and the Anniston Museums and Gardens. The former Fort McClellan site, now partially repurposed as a national guard training center and a homeland security training facility, represents the largest recent change to the city’s footprint.
The Calhoun County district as a whole did not have any major recent changes publicly reported, so there is no indication of a pending boundary shift, program overhaul, or leadership transition that would affect White Plains Elementary in the near term.
The school’s academic profile, with a noticeable gap between reading and math proficiency, suggests a place where literacy instruction is a clear strength and where a family with a child who needs support in math may want to learn more about how the school addresses that subject. The economic profile of the student body and the moderate size of the school relative to its grade band give it the feel of a community-anchored elementary school serving a mix of families in a generally affordable corner of the county.
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