Pine Bluff Lighthouse Elementary Academy, Pine Bluff AR

Original Research by School Decision on Pine Bluff Lighthouse Elementary Academy

Pine Bluff Lighthouse Elementary Academy was a charter school serving a middle-years-only grade band in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. The school is no longer operating. Its parent district, Arkansas Lighthouse Charter Schools, has removed it from its accreditation reports and now lists no Pine Bluff schools among its remaining campuses. For families, that means this specific charter option is no longer available.

The school’s most recent state testing data, from the school year ending in 2023, shows proficiency levels that were very low across every tested grade and subject. In math, proficiency was below the state average by a wide margin at every grade level, with the share of students meeting the proficient benchmark in single digits for fourth, fifth, and sixth grade. Reading and English language arts results followed a similar pattern: the share of proficient students was in the mid-teens for third grade and fell to single digits in fourth and fifth grade. Science results were comparable. No data was available on how many students took the tests, and participation rates were also missing, so the full picture of who was tested is incomplete. A parent considering this school in its time would have wanted to look into that further with the school.

Enrollment and demographic data, including total enrollment, free- or reduced-price lunch eligibility, race and ethnicity breakdowns, and special education or English learner counts, were all missing. That means there is no way to describe the student body’s composition or economic context from the available record. Likewise, no civil rights data, discipline rates, course access information, or staffing ratios were reported. The school’s directory listing notes it served a multi-grade span, but the specific grades covered by “M through M” are unclear from the data provided.

The housing market in Pine Bluff reflects a city whose home values have been declining, with a weighted average value well below both state and national benchmarks. Pine Bluff is a mid-sized city that has experienced population decline in recent years. It remains the commercial and governmental hub of Jefferson County, with major employers including a regional medical center, a casino resort that opened in 2020, a paper mill, and the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. The city’s economy blends industrial, agricultural, and institutional anchors. The housing context suggests affordability compared to broader markets, but also reflects the area’s population and economic trajectory.

For parents or residents researching this school in the past, the data paints a clear picture: it was a small charter school with academic outcomes well below typical state levels, and it no longer exists within the Arkansas Lighthouse Charter Schools network. Its closure leaves Pine Bluff without a Lighthouse charter option from this district. Anyone looking for school choices in Pine Bluff today would need to look elsewhere.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 339%

School 39% · District 18% · ▲ 21 pts above district

▲ 2 pts above state median

Grade 40%

School 0% · District 16% · ▼ 16 pts below district

▼ 40 pts below state median

Grade 516%

School 16% · District 9% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▼ 17 pts below state median

Grade 65%

School 5% · District 13% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▼ 32 pts below state median

English language arts

Grade 315%

School 15% · District 15% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 17 pts below state median

Grade 48%

School 8% · District 18% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▼ 28 pts below state median

Grade 511%

School 11% · District 19% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▼ 23 pts below state median

Grade 614%

School 14% · District 29% · ▼ 16 pts below district

▼ 19 pts below state median

Science

Grade 315%

School 15% · District 24% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▼ 21 pts below state median

Grade 48%

School 8% · District 31% · ▼ 23 pts below district

▼ 28 pts below state median

Grade 511%

School 11% · District 16% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 22 pts below state median

Grade 69%

School 9% · District 35% · ▼ 26 pts below district

▼ 24 pts below state median

This schoolARKANSAS LIGHTHOUSE CHARTER SCHOOLS, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.