Julian Harris Elementary School

Julian Harris Elementary School is an elementary campus of intimate scale in Decatur, Alabama, part of Decatur City, works with 349 students in grades pre-K through 5. Enrollment runs roughly 27% leaner than the state mean of about 480.

Across the 19 schools in Decatur City (8,902 students total), Julian Harris Elementary School accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

Demographically, Julian Harris Elementary School reports that the largest single group is White at 38%, but no single group is in the majority. The remainder looks like 38% Black, 10% multiracial, 9% Hispanic, 4% Asian. The wider county runs roughly 74% White, putting the school's mix visibly less White than the area baseline.

In terms of school funding signals, Staff filings list 23 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 15.5:1 students per teacher. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 17.0:1 average. An estimated 52% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Julian Harris Elementary School performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 46.3%, the actual is 57.4%, a residual of +11.1 points.

Around the school, ACS estimates for Morgan County put median household income runs about $68,845, 23% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 9%. Julian Harris Elementary School is one of 46 public schools in Morgan County (combined enrollment of about 20,204 students).

Nearest neighbor: Austin High School, around 1.2 miles off. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Julian Harris Elementary School. On composite proficiency, Julian Harris Elementary School comes 1st of 8 in the immediate cluster, ahead of the nearby-schools average of 35.6%.

Geographically, the school is in an inner-city area.

Trend over the last 7 years. Julian Harris Elementary School's enrollment has shrank 15% since 2018, when it stood at 409 (now 349). White enrollment moved from 48% to 38% across the same window. Class-load math has narrowed: from 16.8:1 in 2018 to 15.5:1 in 2025.

In the discussion threads here, posts here usually surface around enrollment questions, classroom assignments, and PTA news. The community welcomes input from current and former families.