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Teachers: what resource would make the biggest difference at Helena Middle this year?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
957
Middle
DISTRICT 750 · STATE 508
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·SHELBY COUNTY·NCES 010303002128
Helena Middle
1299 Hillsboro Parkway, Helena, AL 35080 · (205) 682-5300 · Shelby County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE41-RURALREGULAR SCHOOL957 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
18.2:1
53 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.2:1 · STATE 17.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
27%
263 students
DISTRICT 47% · STATE 58%
Community
5
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other middle schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | 312 | 33% |
| Grade 7 | 307 | 32% |
| Grade 8 | 338 | 35% |
Student demographics
48%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 53% · STATE 63% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
ACAP 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
69.1%
AL avg 52.7%
Math
43.5%
AL avg 31.8%
What this means: On the ACAP, Alabama's statewide test, about 69 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 44 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Alabama schools, those numbers are about 53 and 32.
Source: ACAP. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
55.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
64.0%
based on AL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-8.4pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 56% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 64% typical for Alabama schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Alabama's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Where Helena Middle ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Alabama | In Shelby County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 55.5% | #62 of 260 | #5 of 10 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 43.5% | #52 of 260 | #5 of 10 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 69.1% | #68 of 260 | #5 of 10 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 957 | #18 of 265 | #5 of 10 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 18.2:1 | #130 of 244 | #8 of 10 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 47.9% | #133 of 246 | #7 of 10 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 27.5% | #248 of 264 | #8 of 10 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -5.2% | #109 of 151 | N/A |
Ranked against other public middle schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
957
-82 (-8%) vs 2020
+22% since 2010-11, when it was 786
Student : Teacher
18.2:1
was 19.6:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 957 | 52.5 | 18.2:1 | 27% (263) |
| 2023-24 | 988 | 54 | 18.3:1 | 30% (300) |
| 2022-23 | 1,035 | 54 | 19.2:1 | 30% (306) |
| 2020-21 | 1,039 | 53 | 19.6:1 | 19% (196) |
| 2017-18 | 1,009 | 48.5 | 20.8:1 | 20% (197) |
| 2015-16 | 964 | 46 | 21.0:1 | 18% (171) |
| 2010-11 | 786 | 49 | 16.0:1 | 20% (158) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Helena Middle.
About Helena Middle
Helena, Alabama, is home to Helena Middle, a large middle school. It enrolled 957 students in grades 6 through 8 for the 2024-25 school year. Enrollment is 88% higher than the average for middle schools in Alabama, which is about 508.
Helena Middle is one school in Shelby County, a system of 29 schools with 20,638 students.
By race and ethnicity, Helena Middle is 70% White. The school is also 15% Black, 10% Hispanic, and 3% multiracial. By the diversity index, Helena Middle comes in at 48%.
The school reports 52.5 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to about 18.2 students per teacher. Middle schools in Alabama average about 17.9:1, a similar figure. Free or reduced-price lunch eligibility covers 27% of students. Among public schools in Shelby County, the average eligibility rate is 42%.
Helena Middle posts an average proficiency rate on state tests of 55.5%, compared with a predicted 64.0%. It is not in the top or bottom 10% of Alabama schools on BeatsExpectations.
In Shelby County (population about 230,211), median household income is about $97,961, 47% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 5% of residents live below the federal poverty line. A total of 48 public schools operate in Shelby County, serving about 35,120 students.
Helena High School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.2 miles away. Counting only straight-line distance, at least 8 other public schools are within five miles. In a group of 7 nearby schools with scores, Helena Middle ranks 4th on average proficiency.
For locale, NCES codes Helena Middle as Rural: Fringe.
The student count in 2024-25 was 957, 8% below the 1,039 of 2020-21. By 2024-25, the school had 18.2 students per teacher, compared with 19.6 in 2020-21.
The Helena Middle community page is open for posts about enrollment questions, class placement, and PTA news. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Shelby County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
230,211
Census ACS
Median income
$97,961
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
47%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
48
35,120 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Shelby County
- Oak Mountain High SchoolHigh · 1,648 students
- Helena High SchoolHigh · 1,383 students
- Chelsea High SchoolHigh · 1,235 students
- Oak Mountain Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,168 students
- Calera HighHigh · 1,018 students
- Helena Intermediate SchoolElementary · 955 students
Other schools in Helena
- Helena High SchoolHigh · 1,383 students
- Helena Intermediate SchoolElementary · 955 students
- Helena Elementary SchoolElementary · 778 students
Nearby schools
- Helena High School0.2 mi · 1,383
- Helena Intermediate School1.2 mi · 955
- Helena Elementary School1.8 mi · 778
- Creek View Elementary School3.5 mi · 958
- Pelham High School3.9 mi · 1,076
- Robert F Bumpus Middle School3.9 mi · 1,192
Frequently asked questions
About Helena MiddleHow large is Helena Middle?
Helena Middle enrolls approximately 957 students in grades 06-08.
Is Helena Middle an elementary, middle, or high school?
Helena Middle is a middle school covering grades 06-08.
How many students per teacher at Helena Middle?
Approximately 18.2:1 students per teacher at Helena Middle.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Helena Middle?
At Helena Middle, the student body is approximately 70% White, 10% Hispanic, 15% Black, 1% Asian, 3% Two or more.
Is Helena Middle public or private?
Helena Middle is a public K-12 school, overseen by Shelby County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.