Frederick Law Olmsted Academy South, Louisville KY

Original Research by School Decision on Frederick Law Olmsted Academy South

Frederick Law Olmsted Academy South is a regular public middle school in Louisville, Kentucky, serving grades six through eight as part of the Jefferson County Public Schools district. It is not a charter or magnet school. The school enrolls a student body that is predominantly Black, with a substantial share of white students and a notable Hispanic presence; the remaining students are Asian, multiracial, or other backgrounds. A large majority of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, which is a marker of the economic context many families at the school are navigating. Data on the share of students receiving special education services or classified as English learners was not available.

State assessment results from the most recent testing year show that proficiency rates across all subjects and grade levels are low. In math, the share of students scoring at the proficient or advanced level was in the single digits for sixth and seventh grades and rose to a modest share in eighth grade. In English language arts, proficiency rates were also in the teens across all three grades, with the highest rate in eighth grade. Science proficiency in seventh grade was very low, and social studies proficiency in eighth grade was likewise thin. These figures position the school in the bottom quartile for overall proficiency when compared with other districts in Jefferson County. A parent considering this school will want to look into what academic supports and interventions are in place for students who are not yet meeting grade-level benchmarks.

Because this is a middle school that does not serve high school grades, there is no graduation rate to report. Attendance and chronic absenteeism data were also not available, so it is not possible to assess how regularly students are in class from the data provided.

The school is located in Louisville, a large consolidated city-county with a low population density for its size. The city’s economy is driven by health care administration, air cargo logistics at the Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport, bourbon whiskey production, and tourism. Major employers include UPS, Humana, and Yum! Brands. The city is spread out and car-dependent outside the urban core. The area near the school sits in the 40214 ZIP code, where home values are a bit below the state benchmark, and rents are at a level that is fairly typical for the region. The affordability picture suggests that the surrounding area is moderately priced relative to the national market, with the estimated monthly mortgage and rent both falling within a range that is comparable for the broader Louisville area.

The Jefferson County Public Schools district is the parent district. No recent district-level changes, such as boundary adjustments or program launches that would directly affect families, were confirmed through publicly available sources; the search for those details came up empty. Readers who want the latest on school budgets, transportation, or programming decisions may want to check with the district directly.

For a family evaluating Olmsted Academy South, the central consideration is the academic context. The school serves a high-poverty population and the state test results are well below the county average. The student body is diverse in racial and ethnic composition, with no single group forming an overwhelming majority. The school is a standard public middle school with no special admissions criteria or specialized theme. Parents who are able to supplement their child’s learning at home or through outside programs may find the school’s environment welcoming, but those seeking a school with high rates of academic proficiency on state measures will see a significant gap here. As with any school, a visit and a conversation with the principal about how the school is working to raise achievement would be a reasonable next step.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 67%

School 7% · District 28% · ▼ 21 pts below district

▼ 35 pts below state median · ▼ 21 pts below county median

Grade 78%

School 8% · District 31% · ▼ 23 pts below district

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

Grade 817%

School 17% · District 28% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 616%

School 16% · District 39% · ▼ 23 pts below district

▼ 38 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Grade 714%

School 14% · District 36% · ▼ 22 pts below district

▼ 35 pts below state median · ▼ 21 pts below county median

Grade 821%

School 21% · District 30% · ▼ 9 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 76%

School 6% · District 20% · ▼ 14 pts below district

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 21 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 811%

School 11% · District 28% · ▼ 17 pts below district

▼ 27 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

This schoolJefferson 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-income15%Higher-income19%4 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income12%Higher-income23%11 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income22%Higher-income18%4 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income5%Higher-income16%11 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income15%Higher-income25%10 pp gap