Challenger Elementary, 13555 Chaney Thompson Road SE: grades pre-K to 5, 438 students on the 2024-25 state report card, graded B with 89 points.

Last checked Oct. 17, 2026. Sources: the school’s website, its principal’s page, Huntsville City Schools’ feeder pattern chart, school hours, enrollment page and events calendar, the City of Huntsville’s School Zone Locator, the Alabama State Department of Education’s state report card for 2024-25 and 2023-24 and the federal NCES school directory for 2023-24.

Challenger Elementary serves pre-K through fifth grade at 13555 Chaney Thompson Road SE, Huntsville, as one of Huntsville City Schools’ elementary schools. Alabama graded it a B, with 89 points, on its 2024-25 report card.

Who to call
Address 13555 Chaney Thompson Road SE, Huntsville, AL 35803
Phone 256-428-7060
Grades Pre-K to 5
District Huntsville City Schools
Feeds into Challenger Middle, then Grissom High
State school code 159-0034

Principal

Principal Sherita Joiner, according to the school’s website.

Enrollment and teachers

  • State count: 438 students on the 2024-25 Alabama state report card.
  • Federal count: 499 students in the 2023-24 school year, with 28 full-time-equivalent teachers, according to the NCES directory. That is about 18 students per teacher.

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), progress in English language proficiency and, for high schools, graduation rate and college and career readiness, according to the Alabama State Department of Education’s report card rules.

2024-25 grade: B, 89 points. That compares with a C and 79 points on the 2023-24 card. Huntsville City Schools as a whole earned a B, with 89 points.

Indicator 2024-25 score
Academic achievement (ELA and math tests) 75.79
Academic growth 100
Chronic absenteeism (lower is better) 11.66% of students

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

Attendance zone

Check an address with the city’s School Zone Locator, which Huntsville City Schools links from its enrollment page. Zones do not follow the city limits, and the locator also names the school district for each address.

In the district’s feeder pattern chart, Challenger Elementary feeds Challenger Middle and then Grissom High.

Calendar and bell times

Challenger Elementary follows the Huntsville City Schools calendar, posted on the district’s events page. Coming dates:

  • Oct. 26-30: pre-K classrooms closed
  • Wednesday, Nov. 11: Veterans Day holiday
  • Nov. 23-27: Thanksgiving holiday for students and teachers
  • Friday, Dec. 18: half day for all students, end of the second grading period
  • Dec. 21 to Jan. 1: winter holidays; students return Tuesday, Jan. 5
  • Monday, Jan. 18: Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday
  • March 15-19: spring break

School hours: 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. for elementary schools, according to the district’s school hours page.

More

Frequently asked questions

What grades does Challenger Elementary serve?

Challenger Elementary in Huntsville serves pre-K through fifth grade, according to the Alabama State Department of Education’s 2024-25 report card.

What is Challenger Elementary’s state report card grade?

Challenger Elementary earned a B, with 89 points, on Alabama’s 2024-25 state report card, up from 79 points on the 2023-24 card.

Which middle and high school does Challenger Elementary feed into?

Challenger Middle and then Grissom High, according to the Huntsville City Schools feeder pattern chart.

What time does Challenger Elementary start?

Huntsville City Schools lists school hours of 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. for elementary schools.