Greenwood Elementary School

Greenwood Elementary School is one of the cozy primary schools in Bessemer, Alabama, operated by Bessemer City, with 290 students on its rolls from grades pre-K through 5. Compared to the state average of about 480 students per school, that is 40% smaller than typical.

Across the 7 schools in Bessemer City (3,012 students total), Greenwood Elementary School accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

In terms of who attends, Greenwood Elementary School reports that 55% of the student body identifies as Black. Beyond that, the school shows 38% Hispanic, 4% White, 2% multiracial. That is visibly more Black than the county at large, where the share is closer to 42%.

Looking at school resources, On paper, Greenwood Elementary School has 13 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 22.3:1. The state averages around 17.0:1, so this campus is higher than the state norm typical. Roughly 72% of students at Greenwood Elementary School qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. By comparison, Jefferson County runs at roughly 52%, so the school's eligibility rate is somewhat above the surrounding baseline.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Greenwood Elementary School sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 31.9%; this one delivers 26.3%.

Around the school, the surrounding county (Jefferson County) logs that median household earnings sit near $66,388, 36% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 11%. Across Jefferson County's 181 public schools (combined enrollment of about 97,401 students), Greenwood Elementary School is one campus in the mix.

Nearest neighbor: Brocks Gap Intermediate School, around 2.6 miles off. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Among the 8 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Greenwood Elementary School ranks 8th on composite proficiency, behind the local average of 38.8%.

Geographically, the school is in a commuter-belt area.

Looking at the recent track record. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Greenwood Elementary School has rose 14%, going from 255 students in 2018 to 290 in 2025. Over the same period, the Hispanic share edged up from 27% to 38%. Class-load math has loosened: from 15.4:1 in 2018 to 22.3:1 in 2025.

Within the allk12 community for this school, members of the Greenwood Elementary School community share and discuss science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.