By BARTON PERKINS | Staff Writer

Shelby County remained one of the top counties for education in Alabama after the latest Niche.com rankings were released, highlighting all four school districts in the county inside the top 30.

Alabaster, Hoover and Pelham city schools all ranked inside the top 15 of the 2024 rankings, while Shelby County Schools was just outside but still one of the top 30 districts.

Hoover City Schools was the highest-ranked school district in Shelby County and was listed as the fifth best school district in the state of Alabama by Niche. 

HCS received an overall grade of A+ by Niche, thanks to breakdown grades of A for Academics, A for Teachers, A+ for Clubs & Activities, A- for Diversity, A+ for College Prep and A for Administration.

Next in the rankings is Alabaster City Schools, which scored as the eighth best school district in Alabama.

ACS received an overall grade of A+, which can be broken down into A for Academics, A for Teachers, A+ for Clubs & Activities, A for Diversity, A for College Prep and A for Administration.

Pelham City Schools was just narrowly behind Alabaster as the 12th best school system in the state.

PCS received an overall A grade, with breakdown grades of A- in Academics, A in Teachers, A for Clubs and Activities, A in Diversity, A in College Prep and A in Administration.

The Shelby County Schools district ranked 27th in Alabama, with a breakdown grade of A- in Academics, B+ in Teachers, B+ in Clubs & Activities, B+ in Diversity, A- in College Prep and B+ in Administration.

Shelby County is also home to some of the top elementary schools in the state, with Greystone, Meadow View,  Calera, Creek View and Pelham Ridge elementary schools all ranked inside the top 50 elementary schools in Alabama.

Greystone, a member of Hoover City Schools, ranked 14th out of all the public elementary schools in Alabama and first in Shelby County. Greystone’s Niche score was A and can be broken down into a combined score of A for Academics, A for Teachers and B+ for Diversity.

Meadow View, a member of Alabaster City Schools, ranked 20th out of all public elementary schools in the state. Meadow View received an overall grade of A, which can be broken down into A for Academics, A+ for Teachers and A for Diversity.

Calera, a member of Shelby County Schools, ranked 38th out of all public elementary schools in Alabama with an overall Niche grade of A. The grade can be broken down as A for Academics, A for Teachers and A for Diversity. 

Pelham Ridge, a member of Pelham City Schools, is ranked as the 50th best public elementary school in the state. Pelham Ridge was given a grade of A, which can be broken down as A- for Academics, A for Teachers and A for Diversity.

Other public elementary schools in Shelby County ranked as follows:

-Oak Mountain Intermediate at No. 54

-Inverness Elementary at No. 59

-Mt Laurel at No. 60

-Oak Mountain Elementary at No. 63

-Pelham Oaks at No. 69

-Chelsea Park at No. 74

-Thompson Intermediate at No. 92

-Forest Oaks Elementary at No. 110

-Shelby Elementary at No. 141

-Helena Intermediate at No. 149

-Wilsonville at No. 154

-Montevallo Elementary at No. 177

-Elvin Hill at No. 183

-Calera Intermediate School at No. 253

-Helena Elementary School was not ranked but received an overall Niche grade of B, same as Calera Intermediate.

Factors considered for the Best School District ranking include the following grades and weights: academics, 50  percent; culture and diversity, 12.5 percent; parent/student surveys and overall experience, 12.5 percent; teachers, 15 percent; clubs and activities, 2.5 percent; resources and facilities, 5 percent; and sports, 2.5 percent.