The top reported proficiency rate is 29% in Science. The lowest is 15% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Mary Fonseca Elementary School
Mary Fonseca Elementary School serves students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in Fall River, a mid-sized city with a strong Portuguese American cultural presence and a legacy as a 19th-century textile manufacturing center. The city sits on Mount Hope Bay, and its downtown is split by a highway built over the Quequechan River, a feature that shapes daily life. Housing values here are well below the state average and close to the national norm, which makes Fall River more accessible for buyers than many Massachusetts communities. Home prices have held steady with modest annual increases, and rents have risen a bit faster. The local housing market shows elevated demand relative to supply, a pattern common in the region.
The school is one of many regular elementary schools within the Fall River district. Enrollment is large for an elementary building. The student body is diverse, with Hispanic students making up the largest share, followed by white students, Black students, students who identify with two or more races, and a small Asian population. Data on the share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price meals, receive special education services, or are English learners was not available, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about these supports and programs.
On state assessments, the picture is straightforward. Mary Fonseca posts proficiency rates that place it in the bottom quartile among the county's elementary schools when all tested subjects and grades are averaged together. In the most recent testing year, proficiency in English language arts was under one in five students, in math it was similar, and in science it was under three in ten. These results have been fairly stable over the available years; the school has not shown a clear upward or downward trend in any subject. Participation rates on the tests were complete, so the results reflect nearly the entire enrolled population in tested grades. The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report.
This is a school where the academic numbers are low relative to other schools in Bristol County and relative to state averages in Massachusetts. A parent considering this school should look at what academic supports are in place and how the building addresses core instruction and intervention. The school's grade span covers the early years when foundational skills in reading and math are built, so the proficiency data matters for families who place a premium on those outcomes.
The district brief showed no recent parent-relevant changes to report from the available public information. Fall River as a city has seen modest population growth and ongoing discussion of downtown revitalization projects, including a proposed plan to daylight the buried river and create green space. The school sits in a residential neighborhood on Wall Street, within the larger fabric of the city's neighborhoods rather than a separate campus setting.
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