Langston Elementary Leadership Academy Magnet School, Hot Springs AR

Original Research by School Decision on Langston Elementary Leadership Academy Magnet School

Langston Elementary Leadership Academy Magnet School serves students from prekindergarten through sixth grade in Hot Springs, Arkansas, as part of the Hot Springs School District. Its name signals a focus on leadership development and its magnet designation, though the data does not specify what the thematic focus entails in terms of curriculum or admissions. The school is located on Silver Street in Hot Springs, a resort city that is the county seat of Garland County. Hot Springs is defined by its tourism economy, with historic Bathhouse Row, Oaklawn Park horse racing, and Hot Springs National Park forming the core of local civic life and employment, alongside the National Park Service and the hospitality sector. Population growth has been slow but steady in recent years.

The school serves a student body that is diverse by background. The largest racial or ethnic group is Black or African-American students, followed by Hispanic or Latino students, White students, and students who identify as two or more races. Very small numbers of Asian, American Indian or Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander students are also enrolled. Every enrolled student qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, which places the school in a context of high economic need. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available in the provided information.

Langston Elementary Leadership Academy’s academic performance, as measured by the Arkansas ATLAS state assessments, shows proficiency rates that sit well below statewide averages in nearly every grade and subject tested. In math, the share of students scoring at the proficient level or above ranged from a very small share in fifth grade to slightly higher, though still modest, shares in third, fourth, and sixth grades. Reading and English language arts results followed a similar pattern, with the fifth grade again showing a particularly small share of students meeting the bar. Science results were comparable, with third, fourth, and sixth grade each showing roughly one in five students proficient, while fifth grade lagged well behind that. Across all tested subjects and grades, the school’s overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile among the eight districts in Garland County. The county-level comparison is the only frame available; state-level performance data for the school is not benchmarked here against all Arkansas schools.

No graduation rate is reported, which is expected for a school that ends at sixth grade. The data does not include information on chronic absenteeism, disciplinary actions, course access, or staffing ratios, so a parent or guardian would need to seek those details directly from the school or district to build a fuller picture of the daily environment. The district brief did not identify any recent major changes, program overhauls, or leadership transitions of lasting impact, so the operational context appears stable on the surface.

For a family considering this school, the most notable facts are the student body’s full reliance on meal assistance and the consistent pattern of low academic proficiency. The school’s magnet and leadership branding may offer programming or philosophy that appeals to some families, but the assessment results suggest that a parent would want to investigate what academic supports, interventions, and enrichment are actually in place and how they serve students at each grade level. The surrounding city of Hot Springs provides a compact downtown with a national park, lake access, and a tourism-driven economy, but those features are part of the broader community context rather than a direct reflection of the school’s academic program. The school has a sizable enrollment for an elementary and middle-grade campus, spread across eight grade levels from prekindergarten through sixth, which is a wider range than many elementary schools cover.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 317%

School 17% · District 23% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 28 pts below county median

Grade 424%

School 24% · District 30% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

Grade 54%

School 4% · District 20% · ▼ 16 pts below district

▼ 29 pts below state median · ▼ 26 pts below county median

Grade 622%

School 22% · District 30% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 321%

School 21% · District 25% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 19 pts below county median

Grade 426%

School 26% · District 28% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

Grade 58%

School 8% · District 23% · ▼ 14 pts below district

▼ 25 pts below state median · ▼ 22 pts below county median

Grade 614%

School 14% · District 26% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▼ 18 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

Science

Grade 322%

School 22% · District 27% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 21 pts below county median

Grade 423%

School 23% · District 27% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

Grade 58%

School 8% · District 20% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 26 pts below county median

Grade 620%

School 20% · District 26% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

This schoolHOT SPRINGS SCHOOL DISTRICT, 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.