Laceys Spring Elementary School, Laceys Spring AL

Original Research by School Decision on Laceys Spring Elementary School

Laceys Spring Elementary School is a regular public school serving pre-kindergarten through eighth grade as part of the Morgan County school system. It sits in the unincorporated community of Laceys Spring, a rural and residential area at the base of Brindlee Mountain on the southern edge of the Huntsville metro region. The school draws from a low-density, car-dependent area where there is no traditional downtown; daily life centers on highways and scattered homes. The school itself occupies a campus on a rural road, typical of the setting.

Academically, the most recent state testing data shows a clear pattern across grade levels and subjects. In English language arts, the school posts solid proficiency in the early elementary grades, with a majority of third, fourth, and fifth graders meeting the state standard. That level drops off in sixth grade and declines further into middle school, where fewer than half of seventh and eighth graders score proficient. A parent considering this school for the long haul may want to discuss how the school supports literacy as students move into the upper grades.

Math proficiency tells a steeper story. In third grade, roughly half of students meet the state benchmark. That share holds in fourth grade, but by fifth grade it falls to about a quarter, and by seventh grade it is very low. Eighth grade math proficiency is also low. Science is tested in fourth and eighth grades; fourth graders show a moderate proficiency rate, while eighth grade science proficiency is well below a majority. Overall, when all tested subjects and grades are averaged together, the school’s proficiency index sits below the midpoint among Morgan County’s three school districts. The data covers only one school year, so there is no trend to examine yet.

Because Laceys Spring Elementary serves only through eighth grade, there is no high school graduation rate or advanced course data to report. Students who continue in Morgan County Schools attend a high school elsewhere in the district.

The student body is predominantly white, with a substantial Hispanic population and smaller numbers of students identifying as American Indian or Alaska Native, two or more races, Asian, or Black. A large majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which may qualify the school for federal Title I support; the data does not specify its Title I status. Information on students with disabilities and English learners was not available, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about those services and staffing.

Laceys Spring itself is a bedroom community for the Huntsville-Decatur area. The median home value in the ZIP code has appreciated gradually, and the housing stock is a mix of single-family homes and mobile homes. The area remains unincorporated with modest growth, constrained by rural infrastructure. There is no public transit, and residents commute to jobs, with Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville a major nearby employer. The school’s building and grounds reflect the rural setting.

The Morgan County district brief turned up little in the way of recent parent-relevant changes, so the district appears to have been operating without major shifts in policy or leadership that were publicly reported.

For a family trying to understand this school, the picture is one where early elementary reading is a relative strength, while math and later-grade performance are areas that need attention. The school serves a community that is economically diverse within a narrow range, mostly working-class and rural. The academic data suggests that a parent might want to investigate what interventions and supports are in place for middle school math and reading. There is no chronic absenteeism or discipline data in the available records to round out that part of the environment.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 358%

School 58% · District 58% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▲ 15 pts above state median · ▲ 10 pts above county median

Grade 450%

School 50% · District 56% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▲ 13 pts above state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 526%

School 26% · District 52% · ▼ 26 pts below district

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 22 pts below county median

Grade 617%

School 17% · District 30% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Grade 74%

School 4% · District 24% · ▼ 20 pts below district

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

Grade 817%

School 17% · District 33% · ▼ 16 pts below district

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 373%

School 73% · District 70% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 8 pts above state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

Grade 468%

School 68% · District 63% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

Grade 568%

School 68% · District 79% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Grade 646%

School 46% · District 58% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Grade 732%

School 32% · District 63% · ▼ 32 pts below district

▼ 22 pts below state median · ▼ 28 pts below county median

Grade 839%

School 39% · District 59% · ▼ 19 pts below district

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

Science

Grade 458%

School 58% · District 47% · ▲ 11 pts above district

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

Grade 828%

School 28% · District 47% · ▼ 19 pts below district

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

This schoolMorgan 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.