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What's something Sun Valley Elementary School does better than most schools?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
678
Elementary
DISTRICT 462 · STATE 480
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·BIRMINGHAM CITY·NCES 010039001762
Sun Valley Elementary School
1010 18th Ave NW, Birmingham, AL 35215 · (205) 231-5740 · Jefferson County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY12-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL678 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
20.6:1
33 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 19.0:1 · STATE 17.0:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
76%
517 students
DISTRICT 77% · STATE 58%
Community
6
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 36 | 5% |
| Kindergarten | 103 | 15% |
| Grade 1 | 109 | 16% |
| Grade 2 | 109 | 16% |
| Grade 3 | 120 | 18% |
| Grade 4 | 99 | 15% |
| Grade 5 | 102 | 15% |
This year's kindergarten class (103) is about the same size as its 5th grade class (102).
Student demographics
9%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 29% · 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
46.6%
AL avg 52.7%
Math
17.2%
AL avg 31.8%
What this means: On the ACAP, Alabama's statewide test, about 47 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 17 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
28.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
28.6%
based on AL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-0.1pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 28% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 29% 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 →
Schools most like Sun Valley Elementary School
Sun Valley Elementary School's state test result (28.5% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sun Valley Elementary School this school | 678 | 76.3% | 28.5% |
| Oxmoor K5 Birmingham | 512 | 76.8% | 30.6% |
| Greensboro Elementary School Greensboro | 519 | 79.0% | 25.8% |
| LIFE Academy at Historic St Jude Educational Institute Montgomery | 599 | 82.5% | 19.1% |
| Garrett Elementary School Montgomery | 592 | 70.4% | 25.9% |
| The Alberta School of Performing Arts Tuscaloosa | 632 | 71.2% | 44.8% |
Matched among Alabama elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Sun Valley Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Alabama | In Jefferson County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 28.5% | #524 of 626 | #60 of 89 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 17.2% | #543 of 626 | #65 of 89 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 46.6% | #490 of 626 | #53 of 89 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 678 | #118 of 709 | #20 of 97 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 20.6:1 | #619 of 655 | #82 of 93 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 8.8% | #642 of 658 | #92 of 94 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 76.3% | #145 of 696 | #30 of 96 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +6.9% | #165 of 262 | #19 of 31 |
Ranked against other public elementary 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. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
678
+55 (+9%) vs 2020
+64% since 1990-91, when it was 414
Student : Teacher
20.6:1
was 16.0:1
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 | 678 | 33 | 20.6:1 | 76% (517) |
| 2023-24 | 670 | 33 | 20.3:1 | 83% (557) |
| 2022-23 | 611 | 34 | 18.0:1 | 82% (501) |
| 2020-21 | 623 | 39 | 16.0:1 | 83% (514) |
| 2017-18 | 634 | 35 | 18.1:1 | 83% (525) |
| 2015-16 | 580 | 34 | 17.1:1 | 67% (387) |
| 2010-11 | 569 | 36 | 15.8:1 | 52% (296) |
| 2000-01 | 593 | 34 | 17.4:1 | 19% (113) |
| 1990-91 | 414 | 21 | 19.7:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Sun Valley Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students up 7% (634 to 678); teachers down 6% (35 to 33).
About Sun Valley Elementary School
Sun Valley Elementary School is an elementary school in Birmingham, Alabama, and it is part of Birmingham City. Students in pre-K through 5 make up the school's enrollment of 678 students. Elementary schools in Alabama average about 480 students, which makes this school 41% bigger than average.
Birmingham City has 20,954 students in 43 schools, and Sun Valley Elementary School is one of those schools.
At Sun Valley Elementary School, 95% of students are Black. It is also 3% Hispanic. For comparison, the population of Jefferson County is roughly 42% Black. On the diversity index, which measures the chance that two random students are from different groups, Sun Valley Elementary School scores 9%.
Sun Valley Elementary School reported 33 full-time-equivalent teachers in 2024-25, a ratio of 20.6:1. Elementary schools in Alabama average 17.0:1, 3.6 fewer students per teacher than here. There are 517 students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, 76% of enrollment. The rate at public schools in Jefferson County averages 52%, lower than here.
Compared with Alabama schools that have similar shares of low-income students, Sun Valley Elementary School's results are within a point of predicted: 28.5% against 28.6%.
In Jefferson County, where the school is located, median household income comes to about $66,388, about 36% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 11%. The county has 181 public schools and about 97,401 students.
Sun Valley Elementary School's closest public school neighbor is Erwin Middle School, about 1.1 miles away. Counting only straight-line distance, at least 8 other public schools are within five miles. Its average proficiency rate of 28.5% is above the 15.7% average for nearby schools.
The National Center for Education Statistics classifies the school's location as City: Mid-size, meaning it is inside a principal city with a population between 100,000 and 250,000.
From 623 students in 2020-21, enrollment rose to 678 by 2024-25. Students per teacher increased from 16.0 in 2020-21 to 20.6 in 2024-25.
People can post here about homework, tutoring, and testing dates and other school topics. Members of the school community can share what they know.
Jefferson County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
667,755
Census ACS
Median income
$66,388
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
36%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
11%
Below federal line
Schools in county
181
97,401 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Birmingham City
- Huffman High SchoolMagnetHigh · 1,094 students
- Parker High SchoolHigh · 942 students
- Glen Iris Elementary SchoolElementary · 827 students
- Huffman AcademyElementary · 779 students
- Ramsay High SchoolHigh · 762 students
- Woodlawn High SchoolMagnetHigh · 750 students
Other schools in Birmingham
- Oak Mountain High SchoolHigh · 1,648 students
- Oak Mountain Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,168 students
- Huffman High SchoolMagnetHigh · 1,094 students
- Parker High SchoolHigh · 942 students
- Fultondale High SchoolHigh · 848 students
- Glen Iris Elementary SchoolElementary · 827 students
Other Sun Valley Elementary schools
7 other US public schools in 7 states are named Sun Valley Elementary. Sun Valley Elementary School is the 2nd largest of the 8.
- Sun Valley Elementary SchoolPEORIA, AZ · 720 students
- Sun Valley Elementary SchoolSAN ANTONIO, TX · 616 students
- Sun Valley ElementarySan Rafael, CA · 523 students
- Sun Valley ElementarySPARKS, NV · 520 students
- Sun Valley Elementary SchoolSunnyside, WA · 474 students
Nearby schools
- Erwin Middle School1.1 mi · 585
- Erwin Intermediate School1.3 mi · 510
- Center Point Elementary School1.8 mi · 557
- Center Point High School1.8 mi · 685
- Smith Middle School2.0 mi · 336
- Huffman Academy2.3 mi · 779
Frequently asked questions
About Sun Valley Elementary SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Sun Valley Elementary School?
Sun Valley Elementary School enrolls approximately 678 students in grades PK-05.
What age range does Sun Valley Elementary School serve?
Sun Valley Elementary School serves students from grade PK through grade 05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Sun Valley Elementary School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Sun Valley Elementary School is approximately 20.6:1 (33 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Sun Valley Elementary School?
At Sun Valley Elementary School, the student body is approximately 0% White, 3% Hispanic, 95% Black, 0% Asian, 1% Two or more.
Who oversees Sun Valley Elementary School?
Sun Valley Elementary School is overseen by Birmingham City in Jefferson County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.