Alabama has a wealth of excellent school districts, the best of which serve suburbs of the state’s largest cities. Of Alabama’s top ten school districts, five represent suburbs of the state’s most populous city, Birmingham, while three others are located near Huntsville, Alabama’s third largest city.

The Cotton State’s best school district is the Mountain Brook School System, serving Mountain Brook, a suburb of Birmingham and one of the most well-to-do towns in the state. Encompassing four K-6 elementary schools, one junior high school, and one high school, the Mountain Brook School system has been repeatedly recognized for its excellence over the years, most recently being named a 2016 Distinguished District by the International Society for Technology in Education.

Vestavia Hills City School System, representing Vestavia Hills, another affluent suburb of Birmingham, ranks second on the list. The school district regularly exceeds standardized test proficiency standards and boasts a 95% graduation rate.

At #3 is the Homewood City School District, serving the Birmingham suburb, Homewood. A smaller district of three elementary schools , one middle school, and one high school, Homewood City School’s mission statement is “to educate and empower all students to maximize their unique potential.”

Fourth on the list is Madison City Schools based in Madison, a suburb of Huntsville. The district recently expanded, opening the brand new James Clemens High School in 2012.

Rounding out the top five is the Cullman City Board of Education, known as the first district in the state to enact a 1:1 Laptop Initiative, supplying all of its middle school and high school students with a laptop for educational use.

Methodology

The following contributed to the ranking: student performance (math and reading test scores), dropout rates, school funding, and area poverty rates. Data was collected from a total of 9,577 school districts.

Did your district make the list?