The top reported proficiency rate is 70% in English language arts. The lowest is 46% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Headland Elementary School
Headland Elementary School serves students from Pre-K through fifth grade in the city of Headland, the largest municipality in Henry County and part of the Dothan metropolitan area. The school is one of three campuses in the community, sitting alongside Headland Middle School and Headland High School within the Henry County public school system. The school’s enrollment is substantial for an elementary school in this part of Alabama, drawing from a town that has grown steadily over the past two decades and now functions as a residential and commercial hub for the surrounding agricultural region.
The student body is predominantly white, with a smaller share of Black students and small representations of Hispanic students and students of two or more races. About half of the students come from households with incomes low enough to qualify for free or reduced-price meals, a rate that places the school in a middle ground economically, roughly aligned with state averages for a community of this type. Information on the share of students receiving special education services or classified as English learners was not available in the data reviewed; a parent may want to ask the school directly about the supports available for these groups.
State test results from the Alabama Comprehensive Assessment Program, known as ACAP, offer a mixed picture. In English language arts, the school performs on the stronger side. The large majority of students in grades three, four, and five scored at the proficient level in the most recent testing year. This suggests that the school’s reading and writing instruction is a consistent strength across the upper elementary grades. In science, the only tested grade, fourth grade, showed a proficient share that is decent but leaves room for improvement. The math results are more uneven. Proficiency rates in third and fourth grade were at levels that are reasonable but not exceptional, while fifth grade math dropped noticeably, with a smaller share of students meeting the bar. That drop in fifth grade math is a soft spot worth noting; a parent might want to ask how the school prepares students for the jump in mathematical complexity in the upper elementary years and whether additional support is available for students who begin to struggle.
Because Headland Elementary serves only through fifth grade, there is no graduation rate to report, as the school does not serve high school grades. Chronic absenteeism data was also not available in the records reviewed.
The school operates as a regular public school. It is not a charter school, and its magnet status is not recorded. The Title I status, which indicates whether a school receives federal funds to support low-income students, was also absent from the data. Given that roughly half of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, it is reasonable to assume some federal support is in place, but the formal classification was not provided.
Headland itself has been one of Alabama’s faster-growing small cities over the past two decades, overtaking Abbeville as the county seat and largest town. The economy is agribusiness-based, with the USDA’s National Peanut Research Laboratory located in town and a history as a peanut processing center. The city promotes its quality of life, with a central public square, seasonal festivals, recreational parks, and a municipal airport. The housing market, based on home value data, is in a range that is modestly below the statewide benchmark, making it relatively affordable compared to much of Alabama and considerably more affordable than the national average. The town is auto-dependent outside of the immediate downtown area, and Highway travel connects it to Dothan, a short drive south.
The district comparison data was insufficient to place the school’s performance meaningfully against other districts within Henry County, as the county contains only one district roster for this purpose. The academic results described above represent the school’s own standing rather than a comparison to nearby peers.
Overall, Headland Elementary presents as a school with clear academic strengths in reading and writing across the tested elementary grades, a math program that performs well in the middle grades but shows a meaningful drop by fifth grade, and a student body and community that are growing and economically mixed. The school’s size is large for an elementary campus in a small city. A family moving to the area would find a school where literacy instruction is on solid ground, math in the later elementary years warrants a closer look, and the broader community is expanding, affordable, and family-oriented.
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