Westlawn Middle School

As a reasonably sized junior high in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Westlawn Middle School caters to 568 students from grades 6 through 8, part of Tuscaloosa City.

Across the 19 schools in Tuscaloosa City (11,230 students total), Westlawn Middle School accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

Looking at the student body, Westlawn Middle School lists that 86% of students identify as Black, making the school strongly Black-majority; the rest reads as 11% Hispanic. By comparison, Tuscaloosa County as a whole is about 31% Black, so the school skews visibly more Black than its surroundings.

Looking at the economic backdrop, Staff filings list 38 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 14.9:1 students per teacher. The state averages around 17.9:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. Around 88% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. By comparison, Tuscaloosa County runs at roughly 54%, so the school's eligibility rate is higher than the surrounding baseline.

After controlling for student poverty, Westlawn Middle School sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 20.2%; this one delivers 19.4%.

In the area at large, ACS estimates for Tuscaloosa County put median household income runs about $66,231, roughly 32% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 11% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Westlawn Middle School is one of 58 public schools in Tuscaloosa County (combined enrollment of about 30,508 students).

Central Elementary School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.1 miles from this campus. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Among the 8 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Westlawn Middle School ranks 8th on composite proficiency, below the local average of 35.7%.

Westlawn Middle School operates from an urban location.

Trend over the last 7 years. Over the past 7-year window, the student count expanded 46%: 389 students in 2018 compared to 568 in 2025. Black enrollment moved from 98% to 86% across the same window.

On this page, recent activity here tends to focus on fundraisers, lost-and-found posts, and report-card season. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.