Richard Arrington Elementary

Richard Arrington Elementary is an elementary-level community of low-enrollment scale in Birmingham, Alabama, overseen by Birmingham City, enrolling 341 students in grades pre-K through 5. Compared to the state average of about 480 students per school, that is 29% below typical.

Within Birmingham City, which oversees 43 schools and 20,954 students, Richard Arrington Elementary is one campus in the system.

In terms of who attends, Richard Arrington Elementary shows that 86% of students identify as Black, making the school strongly Black-majority; the rest is composed of 12% Hispanic. That is considerably more Black than the county at large, where the share is closer to 42%.

Looking at school resources, Staff filings list 18 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 18.9:1 students per teacher. That figure is higher than the state norm's 17.0:1 average. About 80% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. By comparison, Jefferson County runs at roughly 52%, so the school's eligibility rate is meaningfully above the surrounding baseline.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, Richard Arrington Elementary tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 25.6% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 16.9%.

In the area at large, ACS estimates for Jefferson County put median household earnings sit near $66,388, about 36% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 11%. Richard Arrington Elementary is one of 181 public schools in Jefferson County (combined enrollment of about 97,401 students).

Nearest neighbor: West End Academy, around 0.7 miles off. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Richard Arrington Elementary. Among the 8 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Richard Arrington Elementary ranks 8th on composite proficiency, behind the local average of 42.0%.

Geographically, the school is in a metropolitan area.

On this page, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around enrollment questions, classroom assignments, and PTA news. The community welcomes input from current and former families.