Bush Hills STEAM Academy

Bush Hills STEAM Academy is a modestly sized middle school in Birmingham, Alabama, part of Birmingham City. The school educates 370 students in grades 6 through 8. By comparison, Alabama's public schools average about 508 students each, so Bush Hills STEAM Academy sits 27% below that benchmark.

Within Birmingham City, which oversees 43 schools and 20,954 students, Bush Hills STEAM Academy is one campus in the system.

In terms of who attends, Bush Hills STEAM Academy reports that nearly all students (88%) are Black; the rest breaks down as 11% Hispanic. By comparison, Jefferson County as a whole is about 42% Black, so the school skews noticeably more Black than its surroundings.

Looking at the economic backdrop, The school lists 18 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 20.6:1. The state averages around 17.9:1, so this campus is higher than the state norm typical. An estimated 85% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. By comparison, Jefferson County runs at roughly 52%, so the school's eligibility rate is somewhat above the surrounding baseline.

With demographic context factored in, Bush Hills STEAM Academy performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 21.9%, the actual is 14.6%, a residual of -7.3 points.

Zooming out to the county, community-level numbers for Jefferson County indicate median household earnings sit near $66,388, roughly 36% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 11% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Bush Hills STEAM Academy is one of 181 public schools in Jefferson County (combined enrollment of about 97,401 students).

Nearest neighbor: Princeton School, around 0.9 miles off. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Bush Hills STEAM Academy at 9th of 9; the average score across the group is 40.9%.

The school occupies a city-core site.

Over the past 7-year window. Over the past 7-year window, the student count ticked down 22%: 476 students in 2018 compared to 370 in 2025. Over the same period, the Black share fell from 96% to 88%. Class-load math has grew: from 15.9:1 in 2018 to 20.6:1 in 2025.

In the discussion threads here, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. Members of the school community can share what they know.