The top reported proficiency rate is 47% in English language arts. The lowest is 30% in Social studies.
Original Research by School Decision on Vidalia Upper Elementary School
Vidalia Upper Elementary School serves third through fifth graders in the riverfront town that is the parish seat of Concordia Parish. The school operates as a regular public elementary within the Concordia Parish school system, and its grade band means there are no graduation rates or high school pathways to report here. For families looking at this school, the context begins with the town itself. Vidalia is a small, compact community on the west bank of the Mississippi River, directly across from Natchez, Mississippi. It functions as a mix of residential neighborhoods and industrial operations. Manufacturing plants such as a chemical facility, an apparel producer, and other operations sit in the industrial park south of town, and the riverfront area holds a convention center, hotel, and healthcare facilities. The town’s population has been slowly declining in recent years, and housing costs are well below national benchmarks. This is a place where the price of a home is modest, and the local economy is anchored by manufacturing and civic services.
On state assessments, the school’s results show a pattern that parents will want to weigh carefully. In English language arts, about half of students scored at the proficient level or above on the LEAP 2025 assessment. In mathematics, that share was noticeably lower. Science and social studies results were similarly modest, with fewer than a third of students reaching proficiency in social studies. The school’s participation rates on these tests were very high, meaning the results reflect nearly the entire student body. Because this is a single year of data, there is no trendline yet to show whether performance is moving up or down. The school serves a population where a substantial share of students come from low-income households, as measured by eligibility for free or reduced-price meals.
The student body is majority white, with a significant minority of Black students and a smaller Hispanic presence. There are also small numbers of Asian students and students identifying as two or more races. Enrollment is distributed roughly evenly across grades three, four, and five, with the largest group in fifth grade. The school is not a charter or magnet school, and its Title I status was not specified in the available records.
Because this is an upper elementary school, programming is focused on the core elementary subjects. The data do not include information on class sizes, teacher qualifications, or specific academic supports such as intervention programs or enrichment offerings. Parents considering this school may want to ask about those details directly. The school’s environment and discipline data were also not available, so there is no picture of attendance patterns or behavioral climate from the records at hand.
The district that operates the school, Concordia Parish, serves the broader parish. We looked for publicly reported district-level developments such as curriculum changes, referendum outcomes, or budget shifts from recent years, but little surfaced that could be confirmed from the available sources. A parent seeking a fuller view of the district’s direction might need to contact the central office or attend school board meetings.
The housing market in Vidalia is notably affordable by national standards. Home values have seen a modest decline in the most recent year of data, and rents are below many other areas. For a family, this means that housing costs are unlikely to be the primary barrier. The trade-off is that the local economy is relatively small and the population is contracting, which can affect tax bases and school funding over the long term.
Who might fit well here? A family looking for a small-town elementary school with a strong sense of place, where the Mississippi River and the industrial landscape are part of daily life, and where housing is inexpensive. The academic results are not high compared to state averages, so a parent who values strong test scores may want to investigate what academic supports the school offers. For a family comfortable with a modest achievement profile and interested in a close-knit community setting, Vidalia Upper Elementary provides a straightforward elementary option within a parish system that serves a broad rural area.
See more original research from School Decision →