Enrollment
288
Elementary
DISTRICT 319 · STATE 480
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·GADSDEN CITY·NCES 010162001666
Thompson Elementary School
236 Goldenrod Ave, Gadsden, AL 35901 · (256) 546-7011 · Etowah County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY13-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL288 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
20.2:1
14 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 18.5:1 · STATE 17.0:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
81%
234 students
DISTRICT 73% · STATE 58%
Community
0
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 | 28 | 10% |
| Kindergarten | 53 | 18% |
| Grade 1 | 43 | 15% |
| Grade 2 | 41 | 14% |
| Grade 3 | 47 | 16% |
| Grade 4 | 30 | 10% |
| Grade 5 | 46 | 16% |
This year's kindergarten class (53) is 15% larger than its 5th grade class (46).
Student demographics
56%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 67% · 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
47.9%
AL avg 52.7%
Math
9.9%
AL avg 31.8%
What this means: On the ACAP, Alabama's statewide test, about 48 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 10 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
28.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
25.0%
based on AL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+3.0pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 28% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 25% 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 Thompson Elementary School
Thompson Elementary School's state test result (28.0% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thompson Elementary School this school | 288 | 81.3% | 28.0% |
| Adamsville Elementary School Adamsville | 288 | 79.9% | 31.2% |
| Indian Springs Elementary School Eight Mile | 305 | 78.0% | 35.5% |
| Beverlye Intermediate School Dothan | 338 | 84.0% | 20.2% |
| Greenville Elementary School Greenville | 268 | 85.1% | 46.5% |
| Mary W Burroughs Elementary School Theodore | 404 | 80.7% | 26.1% |
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 Thompson Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Alabama | In Etowah County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 28.0% | #529 of 626 | #18 of 20 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 9.9% | #606 of 626 | #20 of 20 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 47.9% | #479 of 626 | #17 of 20 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 288 | #582 of 709 | #14 of 21 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 20.2:1 | #606 of 655 | #19 of 20 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 56.1% | #213 of 658 | #6 of 20 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 81.3% | #76 of 696 | #4 of 20 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +26.3% | #45 of 262 | #2 of 9 |
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
288
+73 (+34%) vs 2020
-24% since 1990-91, when it was 378
Student : Teacher
20.2:1
was 17.9:1
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 | 288 | 14.3 | 20.2:1 | 81% (234) |
| 2023-24 | 249 | 14 | 17.8:1 | 84% (209) |
| 2022-23 | 217 | 11.4 | 19.0:1 | 90% (195) |
| 2020-21 | 215 | 12 | 17.9:1 | 82% (177) |
| 2017-18 | 228 | 13.3 | 17.1:1 | 77% (175) |
| 2015-16 | 237 | 14 | 16.9:1 | 84% (200) |
| 2010-11 | 215 | 15 | 14.3:1 | 83% (178) |
| 2000-01 | 230 | 16 | 14.4:1 | 93% (213) |
| 1990-91 | 378 | 26 | 14.5:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Thompson Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students up 26% (228 to 288); teachers up 7% (13.3 to 14.3).
About Thompson Elementary School
Thompson Elementary School is an elementary school with a street address in Gadsden, Alabama. The school's 288 students are in pre-K through 5. Enrollment is 40% lower than the average for elementary schools in Alabama, which is about 480.
Gadsden City has 12 schools; together they serve 4,940 students.
Black students make up a majority at Thompson Elementary School, at 62%. Smaller groups are 17% White, 14% Hispanic, and 5% multiracial. For comparison, the population of Etowah County is roughly 15% Black. Pick two students at random and there is a 56% chance they belong to different racial or ethnic groups; that figure is the school's diversity index.
Federal staffing data show 14.3 full-time-equivalent teachers at Thompson Elementary School and a ratio of 20.2:1. The school has more students per teacher than the 17.0:1 average for elementary schools in Alabama. The count of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch equals 81% of enrollment. The rate at public schools in Etowah County averages 58%, lower than here.
Schools in Alabama with a similar free or reduced-price lunch share are predicted to score about 25.0%. Thompson Elementary School scores 28.0%.
Etowah County has about 103,105 residents, and the median household income is $54,563, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 18% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 12%. In all, Etowah County has 42 public schools and roughly 15,139 students.
The closest other public school is Litchfield Middle School, about 2.6 miles away. Within five miles are at least 8 other public schools. In a group of 8 nearby schools with scores, Thompson Elementary School ranks 5th on average proficiency.
NCES describes the area around Thompson Elementary School as City: Small, meaning inside a principal city with a population under 100,000.
Thompson Elementary School's enrollment grew from 215 in 2020-21 to 288 in 2024-25. There were more students per teacher in 2024-25 (20.2:1) than in 2020-21 (17.9:1).
To ask about school events, clubs, and volunteer needs, start a discussion on this page. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Etowah County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
103,105
Census ACS
Median income
$54,563
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
18%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
12%
Below federal line
Schools in county
42
15,139 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Gadsden City
- Gadsden City High SchoolHigh · 1,361 students
- Gadsden Middle SchoolMiddle · 438 students
- Adams Elementary SchoolElementary · 433 students
- W E Striplin Elementary SchoolElementary · 400 students
- Floyd Elementary SchoolElementary · 384 students
- Eura Brown Elementary SchoolElementary · 340 students
Other schools in Gadsden
- Gadsden City High SchoolHigh · 1,361 students
- Gadsden Middle SchoolMiddle · 438 students
- Adams Elementary SchoolElementary · 433 students
- W E Striplin Elementary SchoolElementary · 400 students
- Floyd Elementary SchoolElementary · 384 students
- Gaston High SchoolHigh · 380 students
Other Thompson Elementary schools
9 other US public schools in 6 states are named Thompson Elementary. Thompson Elementary School is the 9th largest of the 10.
- THOMPSON ELEMENTARYRUSKIN, FL · 789 students
- Thompson Elementary SchoolGrandview, WA · 549 students
- Thompson Elementary SchoolMESQUITE, TX · 540 students
- Thompson Elementary SchoolCARROLLTON, TX · 531 students
- Thompson ElementaryHighland, CA · 455 students
Nearby schools
- Litchfield Middle School2.6 mi · 252
- Etowah County Special Education Learning Center2.7 mi · 1
- Adams Elementary School2.7 mi · 433
- Mitchell Elementary School2.9 mi · 262
- Donehoo Elementary School2.9 mi · 225
- Highland Elementary School3.1 mi · 216
Frequently asked questions
About Thompson Elementary SchoolHow large is Thompson Elementary School?
Thompson Elementary School enrolls approximately 288 students in grades PK-05.
What age range does Thompson Elementary School serve?
Thompson Elementary School serves students from grade PK through grade 05.
How many students per teacher at Thompson Elementary School?
Approximately 20.2:1 students per teacher at Thompson Elementary School.
How diverse is Thompson Elementary School?
Thompson Elementary School reports a student body of 17% White, 14% Hispanic, 62% Black, 1% Asian, 5% Two or more.
Who oversees Thompson Elementary School?
Thompson Elementary School is overseen by Gadsden City in Etowah County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.