Faine Elementary School, Dothan AL

Original Research by School Decision on Faine Elementary School

Faine Elementary School, serving kindergarten through sixth grade in Dothan, Alabama, is part of the Dothan City district. The school is located in a city that functions as a regional commercial and transportation hub for southeastern Alabama, southwest Georgia, and the Florida Panhandle. Dothan’s economy is diversified across healthcare, poultry processing, and manufacturing, including plants for Sony, Michelin, and General Electric, and it is known as the Peanut Capital of the World due to the volume of peanut processing in the area. The city has a low-density, car-dependent layout typical of a sprawling Sun Belt city, though a downtown core holds cultural anchors like the Wiregrass Museum of Art. Housing values in the area are below both the state and national benchmarks.

Faine Elementary is a regular public school. Its student body is large for a K-6 school serving these grades. The student population is predominantly Black, with small shares of White students, students of two or more races, and Hispanic students. The vast majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, placing it in a very high-poverty context. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available.

State assessment results for the 2024-25 school year show that overall proficiency rates across tested subjects and grades put Faine Elementary in the bottom quartile relative to other districts in Houston County. In English language arts, proficiency across grades three through five is in the range of a moderate to low share of students meeting the bar, with slightly better results in fifth grade than in third and fourth. In mathematics, proficiency is markedly low across grades three through five, with a small share of students reaching the proficient level. In science, tested in fourth grade, proficiency is also low. The district brief turned up no recent major changes such as curriculum shifts or referendums that would directly affect parents.

For a family considering Faine Elementary, the school’s academic profile is the central consideration. The proficiency numbers are weak across all tested subjects and grade levels, and the school’s overall performance index is the lowest among the county’s districts with comparable data. A parent may want to ask the school directly about instructional supports, intervention programs, and any recent or planned initiatives aimed at raising achievement. The school serves a high-poverty student population, which often correlates with additional resource needs, and a family would want to understand how the school addresses those needs.

The student body is relatively homogeneous in terms of race and ethnicity, and the socioeconomic profile is one of concentrated poverty. This environment may feel familiar or comfortable to some families, while others may be looking for more diversity in background or income level. The school’s grade span, kindergarten through sixth grade, means it covers the elementary and early middle school years; a student would transition to a different school for seventh grade. Dothan itself is a mid-sized, growing city with affordable housing relative to state and national averages, a factor for families weighing where to live.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 36%

School 6% · District 30% · ▼ 23 pts below district

▼ 37 pts below state median · ▼ 53 pts below county median

Grade 43%

School 3% · District 31% · ▼ 28 pts below district

▼ 35 pts below state median · ▼ 38 pts below county median

Grade 515%

School 15% · District 24% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▼ 18 pts below state median · ▼ 23 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 319%

School 19% · District 51% · ▼ 33 pts below district

▼ 46 pts below state median · ▼ 49 pts below county median

Grade 424%

School 24% · District 49% · ▼ 25 pts below district

▼ 35 pts below state median · ▼ 33 pts below county median

Grade 539%

School 39% · District 57% · ▼ 18 pts below district

▼ 28 pts below state median · ▼ 19 pts below county median

Science

Grade 49%

School 9% · District 31% · ▼ 22 pts below district

▼ 29 pts below state median · ▼ 22 pts below county median

This schoolDothan City, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income20%Higher-income0%20 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income14%Higher-income100%86 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income2%Higher-income0%2 pp gap