Tuscaloosa Magnet Schools - Elementary: admission and report card

Last checked Oct. 17, 2026. Sources: the school’s website, principal’s page, specialty school page and admission policy; Tuscaloosa City Schools’ schools directory, feeder patterns and specialty schools page; the district’s 2026-27 calendar; the Alabama State Department of Education’s state report card for 2024-25; and the federal NCES school directory for 2023-24.

Tuscaloosa Magnet Schools - Elementary, known as TMSE, shares a campus on McFarland Boulevard East with Tuscaloosa Magnet Schools - Middle. It teaches first through fifth grade, takes children from across the city district by application and has no attendance zone. The school says it is an authorized International Baccalaureate World School teaching the IB Primary Years Programme. Alabama graded it an A, with 100 points, on its 2024-25 report card.

Who to call

• Front office: 205-759-3655, 315 McFarland Blvd. E.
• School website: tmse.tuscaloosacityschools.com
• Applying: the district’s specialty schools page; the Attendance Office runs the online application. Student Services: 205-759-3502
• Central Office: 205-759-3700, 1210 Almon Ave.
• Buses: the district’s Transportation Department, 205-247-2400

Principal

Principal Constance Pewee-Childs, according to the school’s principal’s page. She writes that she has led Tuscaloosa Magnet Schools - Middle for six years and now leads the elementary school as well.

Enrollment and teachers

• State count: 316 students on the 2024-25 Alabama state report card, up from 300 a year earlier.
• Federal count: 303 students in the 2023-24 school year, with 18 full-time-equivalent teachers, according to the NCES directory. That is about 17 students per teacher.

The two counts are taken at different times and by different rules, so they do not match.

State report card

Alabama grades every public school from A to F each year. The grade comes from a 100-point score built from students’ achievement and growth on state tests in English language arts and math, chronic absenteeism (the share of students who missed 18 or more days) and progress in English language proficiency, according to the Alabama State Department of Education’s report card rules.

2024-25 grade: A, 100 points, up from an A and 99 points on the 2023-24 card. Tuscaloosa City Schools as a whole earned a B, with 86 points.

TMSE’s full report card, with results by student group, teachers and spending, is on the state’s report card site.

Admission

TMSE has no attendance zone, and the district says the magnet schools are not part of its feeder patterns. Under the school’s admission policy:

• Any child living in a Tuscaloosa City Schools zone may apply for grades 1 to 8, including children now in private school or home school.
• Applicants get a Student Profile score built from test results and report card grades; current city kindergartners take the district’s reading and math screeners. A score of at least 73% is needed to be considered.
• Places are shared out at about 7% of each city school’s enrollment, plus a set share for the University Place Choice Zone. Private and home school applicants fill any places left, up to a cap.
• Current magnet students return a commitment letter by the last working day of January each year to keep their place.

The district’s specialty schools page says the 2026-27 admissions window is closed; that year’s application closed Jan. 30, 2026. The school’s specialty school page says information and registration for the next round will be on the district website in January 2027.

Students who stay in the program move on to Tuscaloosa Magnet Schools - Middle and can continue in IB at Central High, the district says.

Calendar

TMSE follows Tuscaloosa City Schools’ 2026-27 calendar (district calendars are on its calendar page). Coming dates:

• Wednesday, Nov. 11: Veterans Day, schools closed
• Nov. 23-27: fall break and Thanksgiving holidays, schools closed
• Friday, Dec. 18: half day for students, end of the first semester
• Dec. 21 to Jan. 1: winter holidays, schools closed; students return Wednesday, Jan. 6

On scheduled half days, the calendar says, elementary schools including Tuscaloosa Magnet Schools dismiss at 11:30 a.m. The district does not publish daily bell times on its website; call the front office for start and dismissal times. The school runs an extended day program, listed on its website.

More

• The district’s schools directory, with every school’s address and phone
• Every public school in Tuscaloosa, with zones and report cards
• Our Tuscaloosa schools guide for the district calendar, enrollment and the school board

Frequently asked questions

What grades does Tuscaloosa Magnet Schools - Elementary serve?

First through fifth grade, according to the school and the district’s specialty schools page.

How do children get into Tuscaloosa Magnet Schools - Elementary?

By application through the district’s specialty school system. Applicants need a Student Profile score of at least 73%, and places are shared out at about 7% of each city school’s enrollment, according to the school’s admission policy.

What is Tuscaloosa Magnet Schools - Elementary’s state report card grade?

An A, with 100 points, on Alabama’s 2024-25 state report card, up from 99 points a year earlier.

Which middle school do magnet elementary students go on to?

Students who stay in the program move on to Tuscaloosa Magnet Schools - Middle. Current magnet students return a commitment letter by the last working day of January each year to keep their place, the admission policy says.