The top reported proficiency rate is 45% in English language arts. The lowest is 17% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Phenix City Elementary School
Phenix City Elementary School serves students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in the city of the same name, a place that sits on the west bank of the Chattahoochee River directly across from Columbus, Georgia. The city was once named the nation’s top affordable suburb to raise a family by a national business magazine, and that sense of being a residential companion to a larger metro area shapes the local context. Five bridges connect Phenix City to Columbus, and the riverfront has been developed with a national recreation trail, an amphitheater, and a park. Three U.S. highways run through the city, and the median commute time for workers is in a range that shows many residents travel elsewhere for their jobs.
The school itself is a regular public school, not a charter, and it is part of the Phenix City district, which operates several elementary schools, one intermediate school, one middle school, and one high school across the city. The elementary school’s enrollment is substantial for its grade band. A very large share of the student body comes from households that qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The student population is predominantly Black, with a much smaller share of white students, followed by students who identify as two or more races, a smaller Hispanic group, and a very small Asian group. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available.
State testing results from the most recent year show a pattern where English language arts proficiency runs ahead of math and science. In third grade, a modest share of students met the proficiency bar in reading. In fourth and fifth grades, the share was in a similar range. Math proficiency was notably lower across all three tested grades, with a sharp drop between third and fourth grades, and fifth-grade math proficiency was very low. Fourth-grade science proficiency was also low. Compared to other districts in Russell County, the school’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades sits in the bottom quartile. This comparison set is small, with only two districts in the county, so the position reflects the gap between this school and the one district that performs higher.
There is only one year of testing data available, so no trend line can be drawn. A parent should consider that this single snapshot may not capture longer patterns, and the results in math and science in particular are an area worth discussing with the school or the district to understand what interventions or supports are in place.
The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report. Data on discipline, chronic absenteeism, and staffing was also not available. This means a parent cannot assess from this profile how the school handles safety, attendance, or teacher stability, and those are important questions to ask directly.
Housing in the area is more affordable than the national median, with home values and rents both showing modest year-over-year increases. The estimated monthly mortgage payment on a median-priced home is lower than the typical rent, which is an unusual dynamic that may reflect a tight rental market. The national unemployment rate has been stable at a moderate level.
The district brief turned up no recent parent-relevant changes such as boundary adjustments, program closings, or new initiatives. The absence of reported changes does not mean the district is static, but nothing surfaced in publicly available information.
Phenix City Elementary is a large, high-poverty elementary school in a small district serving a city that is both a commuter base and a riverfront community. The academic picture shows a school where English language arts is a relative strength, and where math and science are areas where proficiency is low. A parent considering this school will want to ask about math instruction, supports for students who are behind, and what the school’s approach is to the substantial share of students living in low-income households. Without staffing or discipline data, those are also natural topics for a school visit or a conversation with the principal.
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