Alabama's Foster Care Graduation Rate Is the Only One That Hasn't Recovered
Alabama's foster care graduation rate fell from 77% in 2019 to 62% in 2025, the only subgroup with a net decline while every other group improved.
Yellowhammer State Education Coverage, Driven by Data
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Alabama's foster care graduation rate fell from 77% in 2019 to 62% in 2025, the only subgroup with a net decline while every other group improved.
Eleven rural Alabama districts have lost 40% of their enrollment since 2015. Perry County alone is down 57.7%, and the funding formula makes the spiral worse.
Birmingham City's graduation rate has barely moved in a decade (79.4% in 2015, 81.0% in 2025) while the state improved by nearly 5 points around it.
Alabama's graduation rate hit 91.56% in 2025 (second-highest ever) after a 2.5-point dip in 2023 when COVID-era supports expired.
Jason Munford leads Barbour County's newly consolidated elementary campus as the district merges Pre-K through sixth grade under one roof. Outgoing Primary School principal Pamela Allen-Ingram reflects on the early literacy foundation she helped build.
Nine districts have declined every single year since 2015, losing up to 58% of their students. Seven sit in the Black Belt.
Nine of Alabama's 16 student subgroups hit all-time graduation rate highs in 2025, spanning race, gender, poverty, disability, and housing status.
Alabama's largest district has declined for 10 straight years, shedding 11,829 students since 2016. No year in the streak brought a gain.
28 of 138 Alabama districts have regained pre-pandemic enrollment. The state as a whole remains 25,755 students below its fall 2019 headcount and is still falling.
Montgomery Public Schools names Phillip Brooks principal of JAG High School, the former Jefferson Davis HS renamed for civil rights leaders in 2022.
White students hit 50.0% of Alabama enrollment in 2024-25, crossing below the majority line as Hispanic students nearly doubled over nine years.
Alabama public school enrollment dropped to 714,363 in 2025-26, the lowest in at least 12 years, as the state loses students to demographics, school choice, and immigration enforcement.
ALSDE releases 2025-26 enrollment data showing 714,363 students statewide, a four-year decline streak and the lowest point in over a decade.