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District Profile

Effective

Challenging

Engaging

Who are we...

Mountain Brook Schools is a K-12 public school system serving the community of Mountain Brook, Alabama. Founded in 1959, the system includes six schools—four elementary, one junior high, and one high school—with around 4,400 students and over 770 employees. The district is managed by 26 administrators, including a Superintendent and various Department Directors and local school adminstrators, and is governed by a five-member Board of Education appointed by the City Council.

The community provides strong support, with high PTO involvement, generous donations to the Mountain Brook City Schools Foundation, and collaboration with All In Mountain Brook, a local organization supporting students and families.

Mountain Brook is a top-performing district, ranking among the top 100 STEM schools and the highest-performing non-magnet school in the state of Alabama. In 2022, 95% of MBHS seniors attended a four-year university of their choice and had an average ACT score of 26.7. The school also boasts 24 National Merit Finalists in the class of 2024 and more athletic state championships than any other school in Alabama (196). The district’s purpose is to provide an effective, challenging and engaging education for every one of our students.

Mountain

Brook

Schools

"Providing an effective, challenging, and engaging education for every one of our students"

Awards

  • Blue Ribbon Schools: Every school in Mountain Brook has garnered Blue Ribbon School recognition from the U.S. Department of Education at one point in its history. 
  • Top High School: Mountain Brook High School annually ranks among the top high schools in the country. In 2020, U.S. News & World Report ranked it 246th out of more than 17,790 American high schools, placing it among the top 1% of non-magnet schools nationally. MBHS was the top-ranked non-magnet school in Alabama and the state's only high school to rank among the nation's top 1,000 STEM schools, coming in at 184. 
  • ISTE 2016 Distinguished School District Award: Mountain Brook Schools was named the 2016 Distinguished District by the International Society for Technology in Education. The organization creates standards for learning, teaching, and leading in the digital age and represents more than 100,000 professionals worldwide. Only one K-12 school district receives this award. 
  • National Merit Finalists: Mountain Brook has produced 786 National Merit Finalists since 1968, along with four Rhodes Scholars and 1 Fullbright Scholar.
  • Athletics: Mountain Brook has won more state athletic championships (196) than any other public school in Alabama. MBHS was named the top athletic program in the state of Alabama for the 2023-24 school year and the number 5 athletic program in the nation by MaxPreps.

Technology

A major effort in recent years to enhance an already strong system has been the infusion of technology into all of the schools and in all of the system’s day-to-day operations. All classrooms, media centers, offices, and computer labs, which house more than 2,200 computers/laptops, are connected to a Local Area Network. All six schools as well as the central office are connected with fiber optic lines to form the Wide Area Network. All computers are connected to the Internet and all have both internal and external e-mail capabilities. 

In addition, each classroom is equipped with a telephone that serves as the school’s public announcement system and provides voice mail for each staff member. A district technology coordinator directs the efforts of six local school technology specialists and four district technical support specialists. All classrooms are equipped with a mounted data projector, document camera, sound enhancement system, and teaching computer; additional desktop computers are available in all elementary classrooms. 

All schools have wireless networks for district-owned and personal devices. All schools have hardwired labs and wireless laptop labs as well as companion devices for teacher use and student use at a ratio of 1:1. All K-1 classrooms are equipped with mounted Promethean interactive whiteboards. Much more information regarding district technology can be accessed at the technology department page.

Staff and Services

A philosophy of our founding school was to hire quality teachers and maintain low class sizes. Mountain Brook Schools has followed this practice through its history. All elementary schools have a full-time media specialist, music, art, and physical education teachers, technology coordinator, counselor, reading coach, math coach, and Spanish teacher.

In addition, there are programs for children with special needs, and each elementary school has an enrichment teacher who works with academically advanced students. The system has an exemplary program for students who qualify for special education services. In spring 2012, our special education program was monitored by the Alabama State Department of Education. The program was given a Level One ranking – the highest possible rank.

The school district invests substantially in the professional development of all employees. One of the highest honors the district has achieved occurred in 2000 when the U.S. Department of Education recognized the Mountain Brook Schools Professional Development program as a national model. At that time, only 12 school districts had earned this award.

Academics

  • State Leader in Academic Performance: The Mountain Brook system has consistently led the state on academic performance measures. For example, on the 2012 Alabama Reading and Math Test administered to all public school students from grades 3 through 8, Mountain Brook students led the state at every grade level and in every subject area tested with 97–100% of students meeting or exceeding standards. The system would, of course, be expected to score well with the advantages of talented students, hard-working teachers, and supportive parents. A recent analysis of statewide scores on the Stanford Achievement Test indicated that Mountain Brook students’ actual scores exceeded their predicted scores at a rate higher than that of any other system in the state. 
  • Almost All Students College Bound: Due to the high level of educational attainment among the parents in the community, virtually every student in the school system has aspirations of attending a college or university upon completion of his or her K-12 experience. These aspirations are usually fulfilled since on an annual basis, with 97-99% of the graduating seniors furthering their education. A small number of graduates enter the work force or military upon graduation. Since the vast majority of students will attend college, our school system does its best to provide a high quality of preparation for the collegiate experience. 
  • Benchmarking Similar High Schools: Our system has engaged in national benchmarking activities for several years. A benchmarking study compares the achievements of students in our high school with high schools across the country that have been identified as “top public high schools in the nation” by such publications as Money, Parade, Redbook, Newsweek, and U.S. News & World Report. Statistics are gathered in regard to SAT and ACT scores, Advanced Placement scores, and percentages of graduates attending four-year colleges and universities. Mountain Brook students compare very favorably when measured against students from top public schools across the country.

History

The City of Mountain Brook was incorporated in 1942. At that time, two elementary schools existed within the city boundaries that fell under the auspices of the Jefferson County school system. In June 1959, the Mountain Brook City Council decided to form a school system independent from the county system and appointed the first Mountain Brook Board of Education.

The Board of Education acquired from the Jefferson County system the two elementary schools within its city limits, Crestline Elementary and Mountain Brook Elementary, along with a third school, Mountain Brook Junior High, which had been completed in 1956.

As the population in the southern part of the city continued to grow, the decision was made to build a third elementary school, Brookwood Forest, which was completed in 1965. At the same time, the construction of a high school to serve the community was begun, and the doors were opened to its first students in 1966, with the first class of seniors graduating in 1968.

The sixth school in the system, Cherokee Bend Elementary, was completed in 1969.