Thompson Intermediate School

Thompson Intermediate School, a sprawling elementary school in Alabaster, Alabama, overseen by Alabaster City, hosts 901 students, covering grades 4 through 5. By comparison, Alabama's public schools average about 480 students each, so Thompson Intermediate School sits 88% above that benchmark.

Within Alabaster City, which oversees 5 schools and 6,316 students, Thompson Intermediate School is one campus in the system.

In terms of who attends, Thompson Intermediate School lists that the most-represented group is White (52%), with the rest of the student body spread across multiple groups. The remainder comes out to 22% Black, 22% Hispanic, 2% multiracial. The wider county runs roughly 76% White, putting the school's mix visibly less White than the area baseline.

In terms of school funding signals, Thompson Intermediate School shows 50 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 17.9:1. That figure is higher than the state norm's 17.0:1 average. An estimated 57% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. Set against Shelby County (around 42%), the school's rate is north of typical.

After controlling for student poverty, Thompson Intermediate School performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 42.2%, the actual is 58.4%, a residual of +16.2 points.

Around the school, the surrounding county (Shelby County) logs that the typical household earns roughly $97,961 per year, about 47% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and the poverty rate sits near 5%. Thompson Intermediate School is one of 48 public schools in Shelby County (combined enrollment of about 35,120 students).

The closest other public school is Thompson Middle School, roughly 0.4 miles away. Within five miles, there are 6 other public schools. On composite proficiency, Thompson Intermediate School comes 1st of 8 in the immediate cluster, higher than the nearby-schools average of 35.6%.

Thompson Intermediate School operates from a suburban location.

Over the past 7-year window. Over the past 7-year window, the student count shrank 8%: 976 students in 2018 compared to 901 in 2025. The student-to-teacher ratio tightened from 21.7:1 in 2018 to 17.9:1 today.

In the discussion threads here, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around pickup logistics, teacher feedback, and after-school programs. The community welcomes input from current and former families.