Original Research by School Decision on Mattie T Blount High School
Mattie T Blount High School serves students in grades nine through twelve in the unincorporated community of Eight Mile, part of Mobile County. It is a regular public school within the Mobile County school system. The school’s enrollment is sizable for a high school, and the student body is overwhelmingly Black. A very substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating that the school serves a community with significant economic need. Eight Mile itself is a predominantly residential area, racially mixed, with a median household income below the state average and home values that are modest.
State testing data is available for a single recent year. Proficiency rates in English language arts, math, and science are all markedly low. In English language arts, the share of students meeting the state’s proficiency bar sits in the single digits, and math proficiency is at a similar level. Science proficiency, while also low, is somewhat higher. These are the only testing data points available for the school, and they represent a single snapshot; no multi-year trend is provided to show whether performance has been stable, declining, or improving. A parent considering the school would want to discuss directly with the administration how the school is working to address these attainment levels and what academic supports are in place.
Graduation rate data was not available for this school in the information provided, so it is not possible to assess how many students finish high school within four years. Chronic absenteeism and discipline data were also absent from the record. These are significant gaps for a high school, and a parent should ask the school or district for these figures directly.
The community context of Eight Mile is shaped by its status as an unincorporated area that has been partially annexed by the city of Prichard. It lacks a traditional downtown center. The area’s major civic anchor identified publicly is Chickasabogue Park. A notable local employer is the Mobile Gas Service Corp. facility, now operated by Sempra Energy. No information was found regarding recent growth or development in the area, which may be relevant for families wondering about the trajectory of the community.
The parent district, Mobile County, did not have any major recent changes or initiatives surfaced in the research available. This means the district’s current focus and any new programs or policies at Blount are not documented in this record.
In summary, Mattie T Blount High School is a large, predominantly Black high school in a low-income, unincorporated community west of Mobile. Its most critical known data points are the state proficiency rates, which are very low across all three tested subjects. Missing information on graduation rates, chronic absenteeism, and disciplinary climate makes it difficult to get a full picture of the school’s overall health. Families evaluating this school should prioritize a visit and direct conversations with staff to understand the academic interventions, career or dual-credit pathways, and student support systems that are actually operating day to day.
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