Lott Middle School, Citronelle AL

Original Research by School Decision on Lott Middle School

Lott Middle School in Citronelle serves grades six through eight as a regular public school within the Mobile County system. The school’s enrollment is modest for a middle school, and a large majority of its students come from low-income households, which is reflected in the eligibility rate for free or reduced-price meals. The student body is predominantly white, with a notable representation of American Indian or Alaska Native students, followed by Black students and a smaller share of students who identify as two or more races. Hispanic and Asian students make up a thin slice of the population. Data on students with disabilities and English learners were not available, so a parent may want to ask the school about how those populations are served.

Academically, the picture is mixed. In English language arts, proficiency rates sit around the midpoint across all three grades, with a slight decline from sixth to eighth grade. On the Alabama state assessments, roughly half of students met proficiency in reading and writing, which places the school in the middle of the pack among county schools for that subject. Math is a weaker area. Proficiency rates are low in seventh grade and very low in eighth grade, where fewer than one in ten students reached the proficient mark. The combined proficiency index across all subjects and grades places Lott Middle School below the midpoint among Mobile County’s districts. Science results, available only for eighth graders, show that about a third of students scored proficient. Because only a single year of data was available, there is no trend to show whether performance is moving up or down.

Citronelle itself is a small city in northern Mobile County, roughly a half-hour drive north of Mobile. It has a low-density, car-dependent layout, with a historic downtown core that includes a depot museum and several historic districts. The local economy is built around oil production; the Citronelle Oil Field has been a major source of employment for decades. Other civic anchors include a municipal golf course, a park with athletic fields and an amphitheater, and a library. Population growth has been slow and modest over recent decades, and the town’s nickname is “The Best Kept Secret in Southern Alabama.” Housing values in the area are well below the state median, and the estimated typical mortgage payment is low, which may make the area accessible for families looking for affordability.

The Mobile County district, which oversees Lott Middle School, has not made major changes or shifts that were apparent from available information. The district is large, serving the entire county, and this school is one of several middle schools within it. For a family considering the school, the main factors are the academic picture in math and the socioeconomic context of the school and community. The school’s English results are roughly average for the county, and its science results are a relative bright spot. The math scores, however, are a clear soft spot, and a parent may want to investigate what interventions or support structures are in place. The school is a standard public middle school without charter or magnet status, and it follows the regular calendar and curriculum of the Mobile County system. For a family that values a small-town setting and is looking for an affordable housing market, this school fits that context, though the academic numbers, particularly in math, are worth a closer look.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 622%

School 22% · District 25% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

Grade 717%

School 17% · District 19% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

Grade 810%

School 10% · District 18% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▼ 6 pts below state median · even with county median

English language arts

Grade 656%

School 56% · District 49% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▲ 16 pts above county median

Grade 752%

School 52% · District 53%

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

Grade 849%

School 49% · District 52% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

Science

Grade 833%

School 33% · District 40% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

This schoolMobile County, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 6Lower-income49%Higher-income70%20 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income47%Higher-income68%21 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income17%Higher-income30%13 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income13%Higher-income30%17 pp gap