The top reported proficiency rate is 44% in English language arts. The lowest is 18% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Elizabeth Fonde Elementary School
Elizabeth Fonde Elementary School sits in the western part of Mobile, Alabama, serving students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. It is a regular public school within the Mobile County school system, a large countywide district that encompasses the port city and its surrounding suburban and rural areas.
The student body is diverse. The largest group by far is Black students, followed by smaller shares of Hispanic, white, Asian, and multiracial students. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a marker of the economic backgrounds many families bring. The school enrolls a few hundred students, placing it at a mid-size for an elementary school in this grade span.
Academically, the most recent state assessment results from the Alabama Comprehensive Assessment Program show a mixed picture. In English language arts, roughly two in five students in the tested grades met the proficiency benchmark, with the rate climbing slightly across the grades and reaching close to half of fifth graders. Math proficiency was lower, with the rate falling in the mid-to-high teens across the three tested grade levels. Science, tested only in fourth grade, showed about three in ten students proficient. Taken together, overall proficiency across all subjects and grades places Fonde below the midpoint when compared with other elementary schools within Mobile County’s districts. Parents looking at these results may want to ask the school about the specific instructional supports in math and what interventions are available for students below grade level.
The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report. Information about students with disabilities and English learners was not available in the data we had, so a parent interested in those support structures should inquire directly with the school about the services and staffing in place.
The community context gives some shape to what families find in this part of Mobile. The city is a mid-size Gulf Coast port with a strong industrial base, anchored by the Port of Mobile, Airbus’s assembly line, and shipbuilding at Austal USA. Downtown Mobile has a historic core with entertainment along Dauphin Street and cultural institutions such as art museums, a symphony, and an opera, but the overall city footprint is spread out and car-dependent. The most significant recent change was a large annexation in 2023 that expanded the city’s population and shifted its demographics. The Cottage Hill Road address places the school in a residential area west of downtown, where the built environment is typical of suburban-style development.
Housing in the immediate area is moderately priced, with typical home values below the national median and rental rates that are within a common range for a working family. The district itself did not have any recent major changes or strategic initiatives publicly reported that would directly affect a family choosing this school.
For a family considering Fonde, the central facts are these. The school serves a diverse and economically mixed population in a city with a robust industrial economy. Academic proficiency, particularly in math, is an area where the school is working from a lower baseline relative to other elementary schools in the county. English language arts shows a somewhat stronger footing but still leaves room for improvement. Parents who place a high priority on math instruction or whose children need additional academic support will want to understand what targeted programs exist. The school’s location in a car-oriented section of Mobile and its status as one school within a very large district mean that district-wide policies, feeder patterns, and zoning boundaries will matter as much as the school itself.
See more original research from School Decision →