The top reported proficiency rate is 38% in English language arts. The lowest is 17% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Mary W Burroughs Elementary School
Mary W Burroughs Elementary School is a regular public school serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in Theodore, an unincorporated census-designated place within Mobile County. It is part of the Mobile County Public School System, the same district that serves the city of Mobile and its surrounding communities. The school sits in a car-dependent suburban area where Interstate 10 provides the main regional connection and commercial activity lines the primary roads. There is no walkable downtown core; the original center of Theodore now lies within Mobile’s city limits, and Burroughs operates as a standalone campus rather than anchoring a town center.
State assessment results from the Alabama ACAP for the 2024-25 school year are available and show a clear picture. In English language arts, roughly a third to just under half of students met the proficiency standard across grades three through five, with fifth grade reaching the highest share among the three tested grades. In mathematics, the pattern is steeper: third grade saw about a third of students proficient, but the rate dropped markedly in fourth grade and remained low in fifth grade. Science results, available only for fourth grade, reflect a similar difficulty. Taking all tested subjects together, the school’s overall proficiency index falls below the midpoint relative to other districts in Mobile County, which serves as the comparison set. Because Burroughs only goes through fifth grade, there is no graduation rate to report, and chronic absenteeism data was not available in this profile.
The school enrolls a student body that is relatively small for an elementary school serving this grade span. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating that the school serves a community with lower household incomes. Racially and ethnically, the population is predominantly Black, followed by white students, then those who identify as two or more races and a smaller Hispanic share. Asian, American Indian, and Native Hawaiian students make up a very small fraction or are absent from the reported data. Information on the number of students with individualized education plans or English learner status was not provided, so a parent may wish to ask the school directly about special education and language support resources.
The housing market in the Theodore area, as measured by a recent home value index, sits below the statewide benchmark and well below the national figure, making it a relatively affordable pocket within the Mobile metro area. The area’s population has been relatively stable to slightly declining over recent census periods, and the housing stock shows modest vacancy rates. No major new developments or growth initiatives were identified in publicly available sources, consistent with a mature suburban community that is not currently experiencing significant expansion.
For a family considering this school, the core takeaway is this: Mary W Burroughs is a high-poverty elementary school in a stable, car-oriented suburban setting with academic proficiency rates that are measurably lower than the middle of the range among districts in Mobile County, particularly in math and science. A parent would benefit from visiting the school, understanding what academic interventions or support programs are in place, and learning about the instructional focus in the tested subject areas. The local district brief did not point to any recent district-wide changes or initiatives that might directly affect this school, so those conversations would need to start at the school level.
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