MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Alabama school districts are seeing how they measured up after the state Department of Education released its A-F report card grades for the first time in three years, giving Gulf Coast families their first look at post-pandemic district performance.
The 2021-2022 release was the first since 2019. Federal reporting requirements had been waived during the COVID-19 pandemic, when remote learning and school closures disrupted accountability data nationwide.
Saraland Tops the Coast
Saraland City Schools earned the highest mark along the Gulf Coast — a score of 94, an A — ranking fourth among Alabama’s 145 districts. Superintendent Dr. Aaron Milner credited a system-wide effort for the result.
“It’s really a tribute to all of our employees, our support staff — it takes every single person in the school system,” Milner said. “It’s extremely rewarding knowing that we came through COVID and were able to not only maintain but exceed at each of our schools.”
Baldwin County Public Schools earned a B with an overall score of 85. Mobile County Public Schools, the state’s largest district, also received a B with an 80 — just a few points below its pre-pandemic grade from the 2018-2019 school year.
Where South Alabama Districts Landed
Escambia County Schools posted the lowest regional score at 77, a C, while Chickasaw City Schools, Clarke County Schools and Conecuh County Schools also received C grades.
Mobile County Points to Scale and Pandemic Losses
Mobile County Superintendent Cresal Threadgill said she is proud the district maintained its B average despite steep obstacles, noting that the system still is working to close learning gaps for students who missed as much as a full year of school.
Threadgill also pointed to the district’s size — roughly 20,000 more students than the second-largest system in the state — and its high proportion of Title I schools serving families hit especially hard by the pandemic. She highlighted an 88 percent four-year on-time graduation rate and noted that 82 percent of graduates are certified by the state as college- and career-ready.
“Even though I am proud of everyone, I am not satisfied,” Threadgill said. “We will not become complacent; we will keep striving to become an A district.”