Big Sandy Elementary

Big Sandy Elementary is one of the average-sized K-5 schools in Moundville, Alabama, part of Tuscaloosa County, with 522 students on its rolls from grades pre-K through 5.

Tuscaloosa County runs 35 schools in total, collectively educating 19,278 students. Big Sandy Elementary is one of those campuses.

In terms of who attends, Big Sandy Elementary logs that the largest single group is Black at 51%, but no single group is in the majority. Beyond that, the school records 39% White, 7% Hispanic, 3% multiracial. That is considerably more Black than the county at large, where the share is closer to 31%.

Looking at school resources, Staff filings list 29 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 17.9:1 students per teacher. That figure is higher than the state norm's 17.0:1 average. An estimated 46% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal.

After controlling for student poverty, Big Sandy Elementary sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 50.4%; this one delivers 43.0%.

In the broader community, community-level numbers for Tuscaloosa County indicate median household earnings sit near $66,231, about 32% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 11%. Across Tuscaloosa County's 58 public schools (combined enrollment of about 30,508 students), Big Sandy Elementary is one campus in the mix.

Nearest neighbor: Hale County Middle School, around 4.1 miles off. Within five miles, there are 4 other public schools. On composite proficiency, Big Sandy Elementary comes 1st of 8 in the immediate cluster, higher than the nearby-schools average of 36.7%.

The campus sits in a small-town setting.

Trend over the last 7 years. Big Sandy Elementary's enrollment has climbed 53% since 2018, when it stood at 341 (now 522). The White share of enrollment fell from 63% to 39% over that span. Class-load math has narrowed: from 20.1:1 in 2018 to 17.9:1 in 2025.

In the discussion threads here, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.