The top reported proficiency rate is 36% in Math. The lowest is 31% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Dewitt Elementary School
Dewitt Elementary School serves kindergarten through fifth grade in the DeWitt School District, a public elementary school for the agricultural town at the center of Arkansas County. With an enrollment that places it in the mid-sized range for its grade band, the school draws students from DeWitt itself and the surrounding rural area. More than two-thirds of its students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a level that points to a community with considerable economic need and means the school receives targeted federal support under Title I, though the exact Title I status was not specified in the data.
Academically, the picture is uneven across grades and subjects. In third grade, the share of students scoring proficient on the state’s ATLAS assessments was low in both reading and math, and also low in science. Fourth grade showed a markedly different story, with proficiency rates reaching about half of students in math and reading, and around two-fifths in science. Fifth grade saw a drop-off again, particularly in reading, where roughly a quarter of students met the proficient benchmark, while math and science hovered around two-fifths. This pattern means a parent should expect a school where some grade-level teams appear to produce stronger results than others, and where reading proficiency is a particular soft spot in the early and upper elementary years. When measured across every tested subject and grade, the school’s overall proficiency index lands above the midpoint among the three districts in Arkansas County, placing it in the middle of a small field rather than at the top or bottom.
The student body is predominantly white, with a modest Black minority and a smaller Hispanic population. Data on special education identification and English learner status was not available in this report, so a family with a child who has an individualized education plan or who is learning English would want to inquire directly about those supports. The district brief turned up no recent changes of lasting impact that were publicly documented, suggesting a period of relative stability in policies or leadership.
DeWitt itself is a small county seat whose economy revolves around rice milling and related agriculture. The town has a traditional courthouse square and a historic commercial district, but its population has been declining. Housing is notably affordable, with typical home values well below state and national benchmarks. For a family, this means the cost of living is low, and the school serves a community where many households face financial pressures. The town’s civic anchors include the county courthouse and a community college campus, but growth has been stagnant and the job base is narrow.
For whom does this school fit? A family that values an affordable small-town setting and is comfortable with a school where academic proficiency varies by grade and subject will find Dewitt Elementary a perfectly workable option. The elementary school sits within a district that, by county standards, scores around the middle, and the high share of students in poverty means the school likely has experience addressing the challenges that come with that reality. A parent concerned about reading performance in the upper elementary grades will want to follow up on the specific interventions or programs the school uses. Because the available data leaves out several important dimensions such as special education caseload, discipline rates, and extracurricular offerings, a direct visit and conversation with the principal would fill in the rest of the picture.
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