Shades Mountain Elementary School

Shades Mountain Elementary School is one of the intimate K-5 schools in Hoover, Alabama, operated by Hoover City, with 328 students on its rolls from grades K through 5. Compared to the state average of about 480 students per school, that is 32% leaner than typical.

Hoover City runs 16 schools in total, collectively educating 13,632 students. Shades Mountain Elementary School is one of those campuses.

Looking at the student body, Shades Mountain Elementary School logs that the largest single group is White, at 56% of enrollment. The remainder breaks down as 16% Black, 11% multiracial, 9% Hispanic, 8% Asian.

On the income-and-resources front, Staff filings list 27 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 12.1:1 students per teacher. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 17.0:1, putting Shades Mountain Elementary School tighter than the state norm the norm. Around 42% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, often used as a Title I proxy. Set against Jefferson County (around 52%), the school's rate is noticeably below typical.

After controlling for student poverty, Shades Mountain Elementary School sits in the top 10% of Alabama schools after the BeatsExpectations adjustment. Predicted proficiency for the school's FRL share is roughly 53.4%; actual is 76.0%, +22.6 points clear of the demographic baseline.

In the area at large, community-level numbers for Jefferson County indicate the typical household earns roughly $66,388 per year, about 36% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 11%. Shades Mountain Elementary School is one of 181 public schools in Jefferson County (combined enrollment of about 97,401 students).

The closest other public school is Pizitz Middle School, roughly 0.9 miles away. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Among the 8 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Shades Mountain Elementary School ranks 1st on composite proficiency, higher than the local average of 37.5%.

Geographically, the school is in an outer-ring area.

Looking at the recent track record. Over the past 7-year window, the student count increased 3%: 318 students in 2018 compared to 328 in 2025. The Black share of enrollment shrank from 23% to 16% over that span. The student-to-teacher ratio narrowed from 14.7:1 in 2018 to 12.1:1 today.

Within the allk12 community for this school, members of the Shades Mountain Elementary School community share and discuss enrollment questions, classroom assignments, and PTA news. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.