Handley High School

Handley High School is one of the compact senior highs in Roanoke, Alabama, overseen by Roanoke City, with 366 students on its rolls from grades 9 through 12. That puts it 46% smaller than the typical public school in Alabama, which averages around 682 students.

Roanoke City runs 3 schools in total, collectively educating 1,355 students. Handley High School is one of those campuses.

In terms of who attends, Handley High School shows that White students make up the majority at 57%; the rest reads as 39% Black, 2% multiracial. By comparison, Randolph County as a whole is about 76% White, so the school skews noticeably less White than its surroundings.

On the income-and-resources front, The school lists 28 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 13.3:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 17.2:1, putting Handley High School tighter than the state norm the norm. Roughly 61% of students at Handley High School qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Handley High School tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 39.5% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 33.4%.

In the broader community, the surrounding county (Randolph County) logs that median household income runs about $52,338, about 18% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 15%. Handley High School is one of 12 public schools in Randolph County (combined enrollment of about 3,444 students).

The closest other public school is Knight Enloe Elementary School, roughly 0.6 miles away. Counting just inside five miles, 3 other public schools cluster around Handley High School. Among the 9 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Handley High School ranks 9th on composite proficiency, below the local average of 40.1%.

Handley High School operates from a small-town location.

Five-year trend. Handley High School's enrollment has edged down 26% since 2018, when it stood at 493 (now 366). Class-load math has fell: from 19.0:1 in 2018 to 13.3:1 in 2025.

On the community side, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around fundraisers, lost-and-found posts, and report-card season. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.