The top reported proficiency rate is 32% in Math. The lowest is 26% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Southeast Elem.
Southeast Elementary serves first through fourth grade in the Sikeston R-6 School District, a regular public school. The school is one of several elementary buildings feeding into the district’s middle and high schools. With a modest enrollment for this grade band, it operates as a neighborhood school within the city.
Sikeston itself is a city at the intersection of several major highways, with a historic downtown of cobblestone streets and period lighting, a strong industrial and distribution base anchored by employers like Unilever, Orgill, and FedEx Ground, and a park system that includes sixteen parks and a recreation complex that hosts tournaments. The city’s population has been slowly declining over recent years. Housing values in the area are well below state and national benchmarks, and home prices have been slipping slightly, which together with the modest mortgage rates current in mid‑2026 keeps the market relatively affordable. A tornado caused significant damage across the city in 2024, an event families new to the area will want to be aware of.
The student body at Southeast Elementary is majority white, with a substantial Black student population and smaller shares of students who are Hispanic, Asian, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, or of two or more races. Every enrolled student qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a fact that signals the economic realities of the community the school serves. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not reported, so a parent may want to follow up with the school directly for a full picture of support services.
State testing results from the most recent school year show that in third‑grade math and in third‑grade English language arts, about one in three students scored at the proficient level or above. Fourth‑grade math was similar. Fourth‑grade English language arts was lower, with roughly one in five students meeting that bar. This puts the school’s overall proficiency index below the midpoint among the districts in Scott County. The rates are modest, and a parent considering Southeast may want to discuss with the school how it approaches academic intervention and enrichment for students who are not meeting the state benchmark.
The school serves only grades one through four, so there is no graduation rate or high‑school‑level course data to report, and the state testing results are limited to those two tested grades. The district does not appear in the research to have undergone major recent operational changes, and no district‑wide strategic initiatives were found in the search. The school’s website was not evaluated as part of this profile.
Southeast Elementary is a straightforward, grade‑banded public school in a small industrial city with an affordable housing market and a student population that faces significant economic need. Academic performance on state assessments is below the county median, most clearly in fourth‑grade reading, which a family may want to investigate further by speaking with the principal or reviewing the school’s instructional supports. The school’s size and its place within a larger district system mean that students will eventually move on to Sikeston’s middle and high schools, making the district’s overall trajectory relevant for families planning for the long term.
See more original research from School Decision →