The top reported proficiency rate is 47% in Math. The lowest is 24% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Mcgehee Elementary School
McGehee Elementary School is a public school serving kindergarten through fifth grade in McGehee, Arkansas, a small, predominantly rural city in Desha County. The town grew around the railroad and a commissary settlement in the late 1800s, and its economy remains heavily tied to agriculture, with trucking now handling many of the farm products that once moved by rail. A major highway runs through the center of town, and two other US routes intersect on the southeast side. The population has been declining for decades, a pattern reflected in the slow contraction of the local housing market. The built environment is typical of an Arkansas Delta town: a highway commercial corridor, residential side streets, and agricultural land surrounding it. Life here is car-dependent, and the school itself sits within the town rather than on a remote campus.
The school enrolls a student body that is roughly evenly split between Black and White students, with smaller shares of Hispanic students and students who identify as two or more races. A very small number of Asian students are also enrolled. The free-or-reduced-price lunch count reported exceeds the total enrollment, which may reflect a data reporting anomaly or the inclusion of students from a broader feeding program; a parent may want to clarify this with the district. The school is not a charter and serves only elementary grades.
On the most recent state assessments, administered under the ATLAS system, proficiency rates vary by subject and grade. In math, the share of students scoring proficient or above ranged from just under half in third grade, to slightly more than half in fourth grade, down to about two in five by fifth grade. In English language arts, the rates were lower, with roughly a third of third graders, a third of fourth graders, and about a quarter of fifth graders meeting the bar. Science results were the weakest, with roughly a quarter of students proficient at each grade level. Taken together, the school's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile among the small group of districts in Desha County, though with only two districts operating in the county, that means it sits above the middle of that very narrow field. The absolute performance levels are modest, and a parent may want to ask the school about the specific supports available for students who are below proficiency, particularly in reading and science.
No data was available on chronic absenteeism, discipline, staffing ratios, or course access, and because the school serves only elementary grades, no graduation rate is reported. The housing market in McGehee is notably affordable relative to both the state and national benchmarks, with home values having declined in the most recent year. The community's economic anchor remains agriculture, supplemented by the school district itself and a technical college campus. No major recent changes were publicly reported for the McGehee School District that would affect families.
For a family deciding whether this school fits, the picture is of a small, rural elementary school embedded in a contracting town, serving a racially diverse student body. Academic proficiency is below state averages in most measures, though the school compares favorably to the very few other options in its county. A parent interested in strong academic outcomes may want to investigate what interventions and enrichment the school offers and how its students progress as they move into the district's upper grades. The school's location within the town means it functions as a neighborhood school, and the broader community offers limited commercial and cultural amenities, with the Japanese American Internment Museum and the public library as notable civic anchors. The declining population and housing market suggest a community that is stable but not growing.
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