Cherokee Bend Elementary School, Mountain Brook AL

Original Research by School Decision on Cherokee Bend Elementary School

Cherokee Bend Elementary School is one of four elementary schools in the Mountain Brook City School System, a network widely recognized as among the strongest in Alabama. The school serves students from prekindergarten through sixth grade, and its academic performance is a central strength. On state assessments, Cherokee Bend posted proficiency rates that place it well above the typical district within Jefferson County, and in fact it sits in the top quartile of Jefferson County districts on an overall index that averages performance across tested subjects and grades. The numbers are high across the board. Reading and math proficiency levels through fifth grade are particularly striking, with nearly every student in those grades demonstrating grade-level mastery. Science proficiency, assessed in fourth grade, is also strong. In sixth grade, math proficiency remains solid but is not at the same peak as the earlier years, a pattern that holds true for many schools where the transition to more complex content can be felt. The school has only a single year of test results available from the most recent assessment, so there is no trend line yet to suggest whether these are stable or rising figures; a parent may want to ask the school for the prior year's results to get a sense of direction.

The student body is small relative to many suburban elementary schools, and the demographics are largely homogeneous. Nearly all students are white, with small numbers of Hispanic, Asian, and multiracial students. There is very little economic diversity as measured by eligibility for free or reduced-price lunch, with a small share of students qualifying. This is an affluent school serving an affluent community. Mountain Brook itself is a wealthy, heavily forested residential suburb of Birmingham, often called "The Tiny Kingdom" for its concentration of business and professional leaders. The housing prices in the school's zip code are well above state and national medians, and the area has a tight housing market with very low vacancy and limited new construction, because the city is nearly built out. A family moving into Cherokee Bend will be buying into that market, and the typical home costs significantly more than what the national average family could afford; the economics of living here are a major consideration.

The school offers a familiar suburban elementary experience. Its setting is the Cherokee Bend neighborhood, one of several forested residential sections in Mountain Brook, and there is a recreational network of bridle paths through the area. The school itself feeds into Mountain Brook Junior High and then Mountain Brook High School, so the academic pathway from elementary through graduation is contained within the same well-regarded district. The district does not appear to have undergone any recent high-profile changes, and no major parent-relevant shifts were found in available records, suggesting a period of relative stability.

Because Cherokee Bend serves only grades PK through six, there is no graduation rate to report. Discipline data, chronic absenteeism figures, and information on the school's staffing ratios were not available in the data provided. A parent looking for a fuller picture of school climate may want to ask the school directly about its approach to student support and how it tracks attendance and behavior. The school is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet, and it does not participate in Title I funding, which is consistent with the low share of students from low-income households.

Overall, Cherokee Bend Elementary presents a clear profile. It is a high-performing elementary school in a wealthy, tight-knit suburb with an independent school system that has a strong reputation. The academic results are excellent, and the peer environment is one of considerable affluence and low diversity. A family that values top-tier elementary academics, a stable and resourced district pathway through high school, and a quiet, forested suburban home base will find a lot here. A family seeking socioeconomic or racial diversity, or a lower-cost housing market, would likely need to look elsewhere.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 387%

School 87% · District 87%

▲ 44 pts above state median · ▲ 55 pts above county median

Grade 490%

School 90% · District 84% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 52 pts above state median · ▲ 64 pts above county median

Grade 591%

School 91% · District 87% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▲ 58 pts above state median · ▲ 66 pts above county median

Grade 673%

School 73% · District 83% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▲ 44 pts above state median · ▲ 65 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 399%

School 99% · District 98% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 34 pts above state median · ▲ 45 pts above county median

Grade 494%

School 94% · District 92% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 36 pts above state median · ▲ 43 pts above county median

Grade 597%

School 97% · District 98% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▲ 30 pts above state median · ▲ 40 pts above county median

Grade 691%

School 91% · District 92% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▲ 35 pts above state median · ▲ 49 pts above county median

Science

Grade 481%

School 81% · District 83% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▲ 42 pts above state median · ▲ 55 pts above county median

This schoolMountain Brook City, 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 4Lower-income100%Higher-income94%6 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income100%Higher-income90%10 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income100%Higher-income73%27 pp gap