Enrollment
251
Elementary
DISTRICT 373 · STATE 480
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·DECATUR CITY·NCES 010117000436
Walter Jackson Elementary School
1950 Park St SE, Decatur, AL 35601 · (256) 552-3031 · Morgan County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY13-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL251 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
14.9:1
17 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.3:1 · STATE 17.0:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
60%
150 students
DISTRICT 64% · 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 | 18 | 7% |
| Kindergarten | 44 | 18% |
| Grade 1 | 37 | 15% |
| Grade 2 | 40 | 16% |
| Grade 3 | 32 | 13% |
| Grade 4 | 32 | 13% |
| Grade 5 | 48 | 19% |
This year's kindergarten class (44) is 8% smaller than its 5th grade class (48).
Student demographics
70%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 71% · 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
QUIET COMMUNITY
Be the first to start a discussion at Walter Jackson Elementary School.
START A DISCUSSIONTest scores
ACAP 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
70.9%
AL avg 52.7%
Math
49.5%
AL avg 31.8%
What this means: On the ACAP, Alabama's statewide test, about 71 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 50 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
55.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
40.5%
based on AL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+15.0pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 56% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 41% 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 Walter Jackson Elementary School
Walter Jackson Elementary School's state test result (55.5% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Walter Jackson Elementary School this school | 251 | 59.8% | 55.5% |
| Benjamin Davis Elementary School Decatur | 251 | 55.4% | N/A |
| Mitchell Elementary School Gadsden | 262 | 59.2% | 60.5% |
| Wedowee Elementary School Wedowee | 284 | 68.7% | 59.5% |
| Chapman Elementary School Huntsville | 167 | 55.1% | 41.5% |
| Pinedale Elementary School Enterprise | 350 | 67.4% | 60.9% |
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 Walter Jackson Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Alabama | In Morgan County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 55.5% | #239 of 626 | #13 of 22 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 49.5% | #198 of 626 | #11 of 22 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 70.9% | #210 of 626 | #10 of 22 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 251 | #613 of 709 | #22 of 23 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 14.9:1 | #91 of 655 | #5 of 23 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 69.5% | #19 of 658 | #2 of 23 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 59.8% | #344 of 696 | #13 of 23 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -12.2% | #178 of 364 | #2 of 11 |
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
251
-14 (-5%) vs 2020
-18% since 1990-91, when it was 307
Student : Teacher
14.9:1
was 14.7:1
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 | 251 | 16.8 | 14.9:1 | 60% (150) |
| 2023-24 | 240 | 14.8 | 16.2:1 | 71% (171) |
| 2022-23 | 244 | 16.8 | 14.5:1 | 73% (179) |
| 2020-21 | 265 | 18 | 14.7:1 | 63% (166) |
| 2017-18 | 286 | 18.3 | 15.6:1 | 59% (169) |
| 2015-16 | 297 | 19 | 15.6:1 | 58% (172) |
| 2000-01 | 214 | 15 | 14.3:1 | 34% (73) |
| 1990-91 | 307 | 20 | 15.3:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Walter Jackson Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 12% (286 to 251); teachers down 8% (18.3 to 16.8).
About Walter Jackson Elementary School
Walter Jackson Elementary School is an elementary school located in Decatur, Alabama, in Morgan County. Its grade span covers pre-K through 5, with 251 students on the rolls. That compares with an average of about 480 students for elementary schools in Alabama.
Decatur City counts 8,902 students in its 19 schools, and Walter Jackson Elementary School is one of them.
White students account for 45% of enrollment at Walter Jackson Elementary School, more than any other group. Enrollment also includes 22% Black, 20% Hispanic, and 10% multiracial. Among people living in Morgan County, the White share is about 74%. The diversity index for Walter Jackson Elementary School is 70%. For US public schools as a whole it is 70%.
The school's 16.8 full-time-equivalent teachers translate to a student-to-teacher ratio of 14.9:1. Elementary schools in Alabama average 17.0:1, 2.1 more students per teacher than here. Income data for the school show 60% of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.
The school's average proficiency rate across its state test results is 55.5%. For its free or reduced-price lunch share, the predicted value is 40.5%.
The school's county is Morgan County. According to Census Bureau estimates, the median household earns about $68,845 a year, roughly 23% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and about 9% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Public schools in Morgan County number 46, with about 20,204 students.
Measured in a straight line, Oak Park Elementary School is about 0.8 miles from Walter Jackson Elementary School. The five-mile area around Walter Jackson Elementary School holds at least 8 other public schools. The nearest schools with test data average 35.1%, lower than Walter Jackson Elementary School's 55.5%.
The school's federal locale classification is City: Small.
A 5% decline took enrollment from 265 in 2020-21 to 251 in 2024-25.
The Walter Jackson Elementary School discussion page is a place for special education services, counseling, and support programs. Teachers and staff are welcome to share updates too.
Morgan County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
124,471
Census ACS
Median income
$68,845
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
23%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
9%
Below federal line
Schools in county
46
20,204 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Decatur City
- Austin High SchoolHigh · 999 students
- Decatur High SchoolHigh · 915 students
- Decatur Middle SchoolMiddle · 818 students
- Austin Middle SchoolMiddle · 727 students
- Austin Junior High SchoolHigh · 664 students
- Oak Park Elementary SchoolElementary · 481 students
Other schools in Decatur
- Austin High SchoolHigh · 999 students
- Decatur High SchoolHigh · 915 students
- Decatur Middle SchoolMiddle · 818 students
- Austin Middle SchoolMiddle · 727 students
- Austin Junior High SchoolHigh · 664 students
- Priceville High SchoolHigh · 506 students
Nearby schools
- Oak Park Elementary School0.8 mi · 481
- Eastwood Elementary School1.0 mi · 272
- Decatur High School1.3 mi · 915
- Decatur High Developmental1.3 mi · 37
- Decatur Middle School1.4 mi · 818
- BanksCaddell Elementary School1.9 mi · 477
Frequently asked questions
About Walter Jackson Elementary SchoolHow large is Walter Jackson Elementary School?
Walter Jackson Elementary School enrolls approximately 251 students in grades PK-05.
What age range does Walter Jackson Elementary School serve?
Walter Jackson Elementary School serves students from grade PK through grade 05.
How many students per teacher at Walter Jackson Elementary School?
Approximately 14.9:1 students per teacher at Walter Jackson Elementary School.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Walter Jackson Elementary School?
At Walter Jackson Elementary School, the student body is approximately 45% White, 20% Hispanic, 22% Black, 2% Asian, 10% Two or more.
Is Walter Jackson Elementary School public or private?
Walter Jackson Elementary School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Decatur City.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.