Walnut Park Elementary School

As a low-enrollment elementary-level community in Gadsden, Alabama, Walnut Park Elementary School educates 218 students from grades pre-K through 5, one of the schools within Gadsden City. By comparison, Alabama's public schools average about 480 students each, so Walnut Park Elementary School sits 55% leaner than that benchmark.

Within Gadsden City, which oversees 12 schools and 4,940 students, Walnut Park Elementary School is one campus in the system.

Looking at the student body, Walnut Park Elementary School shows that 53% of students identify as White, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups. Other groups include 25% Black, 19% Hispanic. The wider county runs roughly 77% White, putting the school's mix noticeably less White than the area baseline.

Looking at the economic backdrop, Walnut Park Elementary School reports 13 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 16.4:1. The state averages about 17.0:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. Around 79% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. By comparison, Etowah County runs at roughly 58%, so the school's eligibility rate is somewhat above the surrounding baseline.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, Walnut Park Elementary School performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 26.7%, the actual is 43.3%, a residual of +16.7 points.

Zooming out to the county, community-level numbers for Etowah County indicate the typical household earns roughly $54,563 per year, 18% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and roughly 12% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Across Etowah County's 42 public schools (combined enrollment of about 15,139 students), Walnut Park Elementary School is one campus in the mix.

The closest other public school is Sansom Middle School, roughly 1.4 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), Walnut Park Elementary School ranks 1st on composite proficiency, above the local average of 35.2%.

The school occupies a downtown site.

Over the past 7-year window. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Walnut Park Elementary School has declined 14%, going from 254 students in 2018 to 218 in 2025. Over the same period, the White share declined from 64% to 53%. The student-to-teacher ratio widened from 15.4:1 in 2018 to 16.4:1 today.

On the community side, the feed for Walnut Park Elementary School typically covers enrollment questions, classroom assignments, and PTA news. Members of the school community can share what they know.