University Place Elementary, 2000 First Ave.: pre-K to fifth grade, 483 students on the 2024-25 state report card, graded B with 88 points.
Last checked Oct. 17, 2026. Sources: the school’s website and principal’s message; Tuscaloosa City Schools’ schools directory, zoning map and feeder patterns; the Tuscaloosa Magnet Schools admission policy; 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.
University Place Elementary, on First Avenue, is the largest of the four elementary schools in the Central High zone. It teaches pre-K through fifth grade. Alabama graded it a B, with 88 points, on its 2024-25 report card, up five points in a year.
Who to call
- Front office: 205-759-3664, 2000 First Ave.
- School website: universityplace.tuscaloosacityschools.com
- Enrolling a new student: online registration through PowerSchool, linked from the district’s enrollment page. Central Office: 205-759-3700, 1210 Almon Ave.
- Which school is my address zoned for? the district’s zoning map, or Student Services at 205-759-3502
- Buses: the district’s Transportation Department, 205-247-2400
| Address | 2000 First Ave., Tuscaloosa, AL 35401 |
| Phone | 205-759-3664 |
| Grades | Pre-K to 5 |
| District | Tuscaloosa City Schools |
| Goes on to | Westlawn Middle, then Central High |
| State school code | 200-0180 |
Principal
Principal Brittany Grayson, according to the school’s principal’s message. She writes that she was most recently an assistant principal at Central High.
Enrollment and teachers
- State count: 483 students on the 2024-25 Alabama state report card, down from 523 a year earlier.
- Federal count: 612 students in the 2023-24 school year, with 37 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: B, 88 points, up from a B and 83 points on the 2023-24 card. Tuscaloosa City Schools as a whole earned a B, with 86 points.
| Indicator | 2023-24 | 2024-25 |
|---|---|---|
| Academic achievement (ELA and math tests) | 59.08 | 71.79 |
| Academic growth | 100 | 100 |
| Chronic absenteeism (lower is better) | 6.84% | 5.23% |
The 2023-24 card listed University Place as a Targeted Support and Improvement school, a designation under federal accountability rules; the 2024-25 card does not. The full report card, with results by student group, teachers and spending, is on the state’s report card site. The card lists it as a schoolwide Title I school.
Attendance zone
Check an address with the district’s zoning map: type the address, click the blue box on it and the map shows the elementary, middle and high school zones. Zones do not follow the city limits.
In the district’s feeder patterns, University Place is one of four elementary schools in the Central High zone, with Central Elementary, Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary and Oakdale. Its students go on to Westlawn Middle and then Central High.
The Tuscaloosa Magnet Schools’ admission policy sets aside places for children who live in the “University Place Choice Zone,” equal to the largest 7% allocation from any city school. Tuscaloosa Magnet Schools-Elementary takes applications for grades 1 to 5, and the middle grades at The Alberta School of Performing Arts and Tuscaloosa Magnet Schools-Middle are also by application, according to the district’s specialty schools page.
Calendar
University Place 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, elementary schools dismiss at 11:30 a.m., the calendar says. The district does not publish daily bell times on its website; call the front office for start and dismissal times.
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 University Place Elementary serve?
Pre-K through fifth grade, according to the school and the Alabama state report card.
What is University Place Elementary’s state report card grade?
University Place earned a B, with 88 points, on Alabama’s 2024-25 state report card, up from 83 points a year earlier.
Which middle and high school does University Place Elementary feed into?
Westlawn Middle, then Central High, according to the district’s feeder patterns.
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