The top reported proficiency rate is 65% in Science. The lowest is 45% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Bel Aire Elementary School
Bel Aire Elementary School sits on Klein Road in Gulfport, Mississippi, part of the Harrison County School District. It serves kindergarten through sixth grade and operates as a traditional, non-charter public school. The enrollment is moderate for an elementary school covering seven grade levels, with fairly even distribution across the grades.
The student body is predominantly Black, with a sizable white minority and a smaller but present Hispanic enrollment. A small number of students identify as two or more races, and a handful come from other racial backgrounds. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which reflects the economic profile of the surrounding neighborhoods. The school does not report data on students with individualized education programs or English learners, so a parent whose child falls into either of those categories may want to ask the school directly about services and support.
On Mississippi's MAAP assessments, Bel Aire's results land in a middling band. Math proficiency hovers near the midpoint across the tested grades, with fourth grade the strongest performer and fifth grade the weakest. ELA results follow a similar pattern, with fifth grade standing out as the clear bright spot and the other grades clustered around the middle. Science, tested only in fifth grade, is the school's strongest result by a comfortable margin, with a clear majority of tested students reaching proficiency. Participation rates were not reported for any subject or grade, and no multi-year trend data was available, so it is hard to say whether these results represent improvement, decline, or stability. A parent interested in year-over-year direction would need to look beyond what is currently reported here.
The school sits in Gulfport, the second-most populous city in Mississippi. Gulfport blends residential neighborhoods with commercial districts and a tourism economy built around white sand beaches, casino gaming, and cultural events such as the World's Largest Fishing Rodeo and Cruisin' the Coast. The largest employment sectors are military operations, tourism, healthcare, and maritime commerce. Major employers include Memorial Hospital, the Naval Construction Battalion Center, and the two school districts that serve the city, Gulfport School District and Harrison County School District. The city's built environment is auto-oriented, shaped by Interstate 10 running east-west, U.S. 90 along the coast, and U.S. 49 terminating from the north. Street life concentrates downtown and along the beachfront, particularly during seasonal events.
Gulfport has a history of rebuilding after disaster and expanding through annexation. Hurricane Katrina devastated large swaths of the city, and the recovery brought federal aid for infrastructure. The Mississippi Aquarium opened in 2020 on the anniversary of Katrina, replacing an earlier marine facility. The Armed Forces Retirement Home was also rebuilt larger after the storm. Amtrak service returned to the city recently, reconnecting Gulfport to other Gulf Coast cities by rail.
Housing in the school's zip code sits below both the state and national benchmarks for typical home values, making it relatively affordable by national standards. Rents are modest, and the ratio of rent to income stays within a range that most working families can manage. Homes here cost less than the state benchmark, which itself runs well below the national figure. A family buying in this area would face a price-to-income ratio under three, which is favorable compared with many parts of the country, though current mortgage rates add pressure to monthly carrying costs.
The Harrison County School District brief did not surface specific parent-relevant changes such as referendums, curriculum overhauls, or facility investments from recent years, so there is little to report on that front. A parent weighing Bel Aire would be choosing a mid-size, majority-minority elementary school with solid science results, average-tier reading and math outcomes, and an economically diverse student population in an affordable corner of a coastal city with deep military and tourism roots.
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