The top reported proficiency rate is 51% in English language arts. The lowest is 20% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Olive J Dodge Elementary School
Olive J Dodge Elementary School sits in the Mobile County school system, serving students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. It is a regular public school serving a substantial student body for an elementary school in the area. The school draws from a part of Mobile, a mid-size port city whose economy centers on the port, aerospace manufacturing, shipbuilding, and healthcare. Mobile’s residential landscape is largely car-dependent outside the historic downtown, and the public school system’s campuses are spread across the county rather than clustered in the urban core. The school itself is located on Longleaf Drive, in a section of the city that has a suburban residential feel.
The student body is diverse. A majority of students are Black, with a smaller share of white students and smaller groups of students who are Hispanic, two or more races, Asian, or American Indian or Alaska Native. A large proportion of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating that the school serves a community with substantial economic need. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available in the report, so a parent looking for details on special education or language support services would want to follow up directly with the school.
On state testing, the picture is mixed and worth examining closely. In English language arts, roughly half of students in third, fourth, and fifth grade scored at the proficient level. Results were fairly consistent across those grades. In math, the numbers were notably lower, with fewer than one in four students in third and fourth grade reaching proficiency, and a smaller share still in fifth grade. In science, which the state tests in fourth grade, slightly fewer than three in ten students were proficient. Overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades places the school below the midpoint among elementary schools in Mobile County. A single year of data was available, so there is no trend line to show improvement or decline. A parent considering Dodge will want to ask the school directly about how they are approaching math instruction and what supports are in place for students who are not yet meeting that bar.
Because the school serves only elementary grades, there is no graduation rate to report, and data on chronic absenteeism was not available in this profile.
The school’s programs, extracurricular offerings, and specific academic themes were not detailed in the available information. The district brief for Mobile County turned up no recent changes or initiatives of lasting note that were publicly reported, so the district-level context is stable but not particularly instructive for a parent trying to differentiate this school from others in the system.
The housing market in the school’s zip code offers a more affordable entry point compared to national averages. Home values and rents have both seen a slight year-over-year decline. For a family buying or renting, the trade-off is between a lower-cost home and a school where academic outcomes, especially in math, may require additional attention. The area is part of a county that saw a recent large annexation into the city of Mobile, but that development is city-level growth policy and does not directly speak to what happens inside the school’s classrooms.
Olive J Dodge Elementary is a large, diverse neighborhood school where the majority of families are managing economic constraints. The school’s strongest showing is in elementary reading, where about half of students meet the state’s proficiency standard. Math and science proficiency rates are areas where the school is working from a lower base. A parent considering this school should expect to be an active partner in their child’s math learning and to inquire about how the school targets support for students who need it. The available data gives a single snapshot, not a trajectory, so the most useful next step is a conversation with the school about its current academic plan and how it addresses the gaps the test results reveal.
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