Forest Oaks Elementary School

Set in Chelsea, Alabama, Forest Oaks Elementary School is a moderately sized elementary school, one of the schools within Shelby County. It serves 606 students across grades K through 5. That puts it 26% above the typical public school in Alabama, which averages around 480 students.

Shelby County comprises 29 schools with combined enrollment of 20,638 students; Forest Oaks Elementary School is among them.

On demographics, Forest Oaks Elementary School lists that the largest single group is White, at 79% of enrollment; the rest consists of 10% Hispanic, 8% Black. That mix tracks the wider county fairly closely.

On the income-and-resources front, The school reports having 36 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 16.8:1. The state averages about 17.0:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. Around 29% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. Set against Shelby County (around 42%), the school's rate is south of typical.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Forest Oaks Elementary School performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 62.7%, the actual is 58.8%, a residual of -3.9 points.

Zooming out to the county, ACS estimates for Shelby County put the typical household earns roughly $97,961 per year, roughly 47% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 5% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Forest Oaks Elementary School is one of 48 public schools in Shelby County (combined enrollment of about 35,120 students).

Nearest neighbor: Chelsea Middle School, around 0.6 miles off. Within five miles, there are 3 other public schools. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Forest Oaks Elementary School at 1st of 9; the average score across the group is 37.2%.

Forest Oaks Elementary School operates from a countryside location.

Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count ticked down 18%: 741 students in 2018 compared to 606 in 2025. The Hispanic share of enrollment increased from 5% to 10% over that span. Class-load math has tightened: from 18.0:1 in 2018 to 16.8:1 in 2025.

Inside the community feed, posts here usually surface around pickup logistics, teacher feedback, and after-school programs. Members of the school community can share what they know.