Original Research by School Decision on Mulberry High School
Mulberry High School serves grades nine through twelve in the small town of Mulberry, a place where the Arkansas River forms the southern border and the Ozark National Forest lies just north. The school is the sole high school within the Mulberry/Pleasant View Bi-County Schools district, a system that draws from the community and the surrounding rural area. Mulberry itself is experiencing a period of modest growth and infrastructure investment, including a water treatment plant expansion and new commercial developments along Highway 64, such as a travel center and a grocery store. The town’s economy is rooted in agriculture, trucking, and local industry, with a notable edamame processing plant operating nearby.
The student body at Mulberry High School is small and predominantly white. Nearly all students come from low-income households, as indicated by the share qualifying for free or reduced-price meals. The school’s enrollment is distributed fairly evenly across the four high school grades. Data on the number of students receiving special education services or those learning English was not available.
State testing results for the most recent school year were not reported for Mulberry High School. Arkansas recently introduced a new statewide assessment, the ATLAS, alongside the Dynamic Learning Maps, and also changed the proficiency cut scores. Because of these simultaneous shifts, prior-year results cannot be directly compared, and the school’s performance on this new metric was not available. A parent may want to discuss current academic performance directly with the school or look for supplementary information from the district.
No graduation rate was available for this school. For a high school, this is a standard metric, and its absence makes it harder to gauge how successfully students complete their secondary education. A family considering this school may wish to ask about the graduation rate directly.
Mulberry High School’s course offerings and program information were not provided. There is no data on dual-enrollment, Advanced Placement, or career and technical education pathways, which are common features at many Arkansas high schools. Without this information, it is not possible to characterize the breadth of the academic program. Interested families should contact the school to learn about available coursework and any opportunities for college credit or vocational training.
Looking at the school’s standing among other districts in Crawford County, a comparison was not possible because the key academic data points—proficiency rates, graduation rates, and chronic absenteeism—were lacking for this school. This leaves a gap in understanding how Mulberry High School compares with its neighbors in the county.
The absence of a graduation rate and new state test results leaves significant unknowns about academic outcomes. For a family weighing this school, the most useful next step would be to speak with the administration or the district office to fill in those blanks. The school occupies a specific niche: a rural Arkansas high school serving a small, economically disadvantaged student population in a town that is investing in local infrastructure and commercial growth. Whether that setting is a good fit depends on what a family is looking for in a high school environment, but the lack of foundational academic metrics means a family will need to do some digging to get a clear picture.
See more original research from School Decision →