Elementary Families

Students in grades Pre-K through 5 attend one of 11 neighborhood schools:

Depending on a student's grade level, they are eligible to apply to one of three specialty schools: The Alberta School of Performing Arts and Tuscaloosa Magnet Schools - Elementary.

Students attend school Monday-Friday from 7:55 a.m. - 2:40 p.m.

After-school services are offered, but contact your child's school about the after-school program.

Specialty Programs

Specialty Programs

Tuscaloosa City Schools has a commitment to educating all learners. Offering diverse environments to challenge learners in various ways, the school system provides several options for students. Learn more about these offerings and how to apply to the following schools: The Alberta School of Performing Arts, Tuscaloosa Magnet Schools -- Elementary and Middle, and Central High School.

Applications for these schools are available to any students residing in the Tuscaloosa City School attendance zones. An online application is available on www.tuscaloosacityschools.com starting in January and must be completed and submitted by 3 p.m. on the last day of school in January. Hard copies of the application will be available at any of the Tuscaloosa City Schools.

Access Specialty schools program information

Contact

Dr. Terri North-Byrts
Director of Student Literacy
205-759-3533

Download the 2024-2025 TCS Academic Guide (PDF)

More to Explore

Strategic Plan-Connected Goals

The following are goals connected to our five-year strategic plan:

Content Literacy: Integrate literacy across all disciplines
STEAM: promote creativity, innovation, and collaborative problem-solving
Social-Emotional Learning (SEL): cultivate a caring and equitable learning environment that actively engages all students in their academic, social, and emotional growth
Mathematics, Science and Technology: continue to target Mathematics, Science and Technology in order to develop learners who are critical thinkers, leaders, and problem-solvers for success as global citizens and in the workforce
Reading Before 3rd Grade (RB3): ensure all students are reading on grade-level before 3rd grade
Summer Learning: prioritize learning during summer months as a key strategy for preventing student learning gaps
Pre-K: recruit and serve all Tuscaloosa City zoned four-year-olds for our Pre-K program

Our world is changing, and at TCS elementary schools, so are we.

Anti-Bullying

Tuscaloosa City Schools initiated HALT, Harassment Awareness Learning Together, district-wide to combat bullying in the entire school system in August 2012. During the fall of 2014, TCS partnered with a team of University of Alabama public relations students and the City of Tuscaloosa for Phase 3 of the campaign.

The goals of the HALT Initiative:

Create a TCS bullying document with policies, contact, and forms
Bully training for HALT coordinators who will use train-the-trainer model to train entire faculty and staff at each school
Implement parent/community awareness training on the topic of bullying
Create avenues for reporting bullying at the local school-level and central office
Work with HALT coordinators to implement comprehensive curriculum to address both the bully, victim, and empowering bystanders
Create HALT posters, bracelets, pledge cards to support awareness in schools
Create a HALT web presence under Student Services
Professional development for all faculty and staff including the transportation department on the topic of bullying
Increase awareness of the topic of bullying in order to decrease cases of bullying

report bullying

Outreach

The goal of the Elementary Department is to help guide curriculum in the elementary schools for pre-kindergarten through fifth-grade students. The department helps organize several special field trips/programs for our students every year. These include the Dictionary Project, Constitution Project, and The University of Alabama Fastbreak Basketball Program.

The Dictionary Project provides a basic dictionary to every third-grade student in the city and county schools. These dictionaries are counted out by classroom and delivered to the schools in early September.
The Constitution Project ensures that all fifth graders receive a pocket-size copy of the United States Constitution. The booklets are delivered to the schools along with the dictionaries in early September, in time for Constitution Day on September 17. These efforts are graciously provided by the Tuscaloosa Republican Women.
Our fifth graders get to put their math skills to the test each December when they participate in Fastbreak, the program sponsored by the University of Alabama Women’s Basketball Team. Each fall, the fifth-grade teachers receive a curriculum with math lessons and games.

Additionally, students at select elementary schools have the opportunity to participate in Schoolyard Roots, a school gardening lab designed to promote hands-on-science, math-based education and healthy eating habits.

Visit Schoolyard roots

Special Education

The Tuscaloosa City Schools’ Department of Special Education Support Services promotes opportunities for students to participate in educational and extracurricular activities designed to facilitate maximum student achievement. A full range of services, meeting the needs of all identified students' grade Prek-12, special education and gifted, is offered in all schools in the Tuscaloosa City School System.

Special Education Services includes qualified Special Education Teachers and Paraprofessionals, Speech/Language Pathologists, Occupational Therapists, Physical Therapists, Orientation & Mobility Specialist, Board Certified Behavior Analysts, School Psychologists and other related service providers. Together we plan and provide educational programs for students with disabilities in partnership with general education staff, administrators and parents.

We nurture individuals, who value themselves and others and provide an educational foundation that enables students to have the ability to think, communicate, create and apply their unique learning experiences throughout their lifetime.

We believe that parents are a valuable and essential part of the educational process and that their aspirations for and insights about their child’s program are an integral component as we plan together for their child’s educational success.

Visit the TCS Special Education Page

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