Wacoochee Elementary School

Wacoochee Elementary School is a moderately sized primary school in Salem, Alabama, overseen by Lee County. The school caters to 574 students in grades pre-K through 6.

Lee County comprises 13 schools with combined enrollment of 9,026 students; Wacoochee Elementary School is among them.

Looking at the student body, Wacoochee Elementary School reports that 75% of the student body identifies as White; the rest looks like 12% Black, 7% Hispanic, 6% multiracial. By comparison, Lee County as a whole is about 66% White, so the school skews noticeably more White than its surroundings.

On the income-and-resources front, On paper, Wacoochee Elementary School has 36 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 15.9:1. The state averages around 17.0:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. Around 43% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Wacoochee Elementary School sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 52.8%; this one delivers 63.3%.

In the surrounding community, ACS estimates for Lee County put the typical household earns roughly $65,824 per year, about 42% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 10%. Across Lee County's 41 public schools (combined enrollment of about 24,812 students), Wacoochee Elementary School is one campus in the mix.

Nearest neighbor: West Smiths Station Elementary School, around 7.3 miles off. Within ten miles, there are 8 other public schools, a sparser pattern than typical urban areas. Among the 7 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Wacoochee Elementary School ranks 1st on composite proficiency, above the local average of 35.9%.

Geographically, the school is in a rural area.

Five-year trend. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Wacoochee Elementary School has fell 5%, going from 606 students in 2018 to 574 in 2025. Over the same period, the Black share fell from 19% to 12%. Class-load math has tightened: from 18.9:1 in 2018 to 15.9:1 in 2025.

In the discussion threads here, members of the Wacoochee Elementary School community share and discuss science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.