The top reported proficiency rate is 46% in English language arts. The lowest is 18% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Rachel Patterson Elementary School
Rachel Patterson Elementary School is a regular public school in Atmore, Alabama, serving kindergarten through fourth grade as part of the Escambia County district. It draws its students from a community with a mixed industrial and hospitality economy—originally a railroad and farming town, Atmore now hosts Wind Creek Casino, a hospital, and manufacturing plants, along with state correctional facilities. The city's population has been in a modest decline, though local leaders describe ongoing redevelopment efforts. For a school of this size, it sits in a housing market where home values are well below both the state and national averages, and a substantial share of families qualify for economic support.
The student body of approximately five hundred children is predominantly Black, with a smaller but notable share of white students and a handful of Asian, Hispanic, and multiracial students. More than nine out of ten students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, an extremely high rate that signals concentrated poverty. Data on students with disabilities and English learners were not available in the records provided.
On the Alabama state assessments administered in the 2024–25 school year, Rachel Patterson’s results show a pattern where reading proficiency is somewhat higher than math, and both areas are well below what many families would expect. In third grade, roughly half of students scored proficient in English language arts, dropping to about two-fifths in fourth and fifth grades. In math, proficiency was around a quarter in third grade, one-fifth in fourth, and a very low single-digit share in fifth grade. Science results for fourth grade also landed at about one-fifth of students meeting the bar. Because the school’s grade band formally ends at fourth grade, the presence of fifth-grade test results appears to be a data artifact; a parent may want to clarify directly with the school which grade levels are actually tested on site.
Compared with the two other school districts in Escambia County, Rachel Patterson’s overall proficiency index falls in the bottom quartile of that small group. No chronic absenteeism or graduation data are available for an elementary school, which is typical. The district itself did not have any recent publicly reported policy changes or referendum activity, so the academic picture stands as the main reference point for families considering the school.
A parent evaluating Rachel Patterson Elementary will find a school that serves a high-need population in a town with a modest economic base. The proficiency numbers across tested subjects are soft, especially in math and science. There is no information on program offerings, staffing ratios, or discipline rates in the available data, so those are open questions to raise with the school. For families who prioritize early literacy, the third-grade reading results are the strongest point in the profile, though still only around half of students reaching proficiency. The school’s location in a small Southern city with a traditional downtown and nearby outdoor recreation may be attractive to some, but the academic challenges are clear from the state results. A parent should ask about any targeted support programs, intervention strategies, and how the school works to lift achievement from the current baseline.
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