The top reported proficiency rate is 73% in Science. The lowest is 55% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Orange Grove Elementary
Orange Grove Elementary sits on Old Highway 49 in the northern reaches of Gulfport, serving fourth through sixth graders as part of the Harrison County School District. It is a traditional public school, neither charter nor magnet, and its three-grade configuration makes it an intermediate building where children consolidate elementary skills before moving into secondary schooling.
On Mississippi's state assessments, Orange Grove's results are a genuine strength in English language arts. Across all three tested grades, well over half of students reached proficiency, with fifth graders posting the strongest showing. Science results for fifth grade were the school's brightest spot, with roughly three quarters of tested students meeting the proficiency bar. Mathematics was more uneven. Fourth graders performed solidly, with the clear majority proficient, but fifth grade math dipped below half, and sixth grade landed somewhere between those two points. The fifth grade math result is the one area where a parent may want to look into this further with the school, asking what supports are in place for students who arrive from feeder schools with gaps in their foundation. Trend data across years was not available, so it is hard to say whether that dip is a one-year pattern or a persistent one.
The school serves a student body of modest size for its grade band, with enrollment distributed fairly evenly across the three grades. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, which places Orange Grove squarely in the category of schools serving a working-class community. The racial and ethnic mix is one of the school's defining characteristics: Black students form the largest single group, White students are close behind, and a meaningful share of students identify as two or more races. Hispanic and Asian students are present in smaller numbers. Data on English learners and students with individualized education programs was not reported, so we cannot characterize those populations. A parent whose child falls into either group would want to ask the school directly about services and staffing.
Gulfport itself is a coastal city built originally as a railroad terminus and lumber port, now diversified across military operations, tourism, healthcare, and maritime commerce. The city is auto-oriented, with Interstate 10 running east-west and U.S. Highway 49 terminating at the coast. Publicly reported sources describe Gulfport as the second-most populous city in Mississippi, with a downtown near the port along U.S. 90 and neighborhoods spread across a large land area. The Harrison County School District operates schools across the city, and facilities are distributed rather than concentrated downtown. The district also appears among the area's top employers, alongside Memorial Hospital, the Naval Construction Battalion Center, and Island View Casino.
Housing in the school's zip code is affordable relative to national norms, with typical home values sitting well below the national benchmark and moderately below the state benchmark as well. Rents are modest, and the gap between monthly rent and a monthly mortgage payment is relatively narrow, which means both renting and buying are within reach for many working families in the area. Home values have been rising only slightly year over year, suggesting a stable rather than rapidly appreciating market.
We looked for information about Harrison County School District's recent strategic changes, such as curriculum updates, facility investments, or policy shifts, and found little that was specific. We left it out rather than guess. Similarly, data on disciplinary practices, course offerings, staffing ratios, and attendance was not available for this school, so we cannot speak to those dimensions. Program offerings and any gifted, arts, or extracurricular options would need to be confirmed directly with the school.
What the available evidence paints is a picture of an intermediate-grade school with solid literacy and science results, a math program that shows room for growth in the middle grade, and a diverse student body drawn from a working-class coastal community. Families drawn to a school where their child will learn alongside peers from a range of backgrounds, in a district that is a known anchor employer in the region, may find Orange Grove a reasonable fit. Those with concerns about math performance in fifth grade, or whose children need specialized services, should bring those questions directly to the administration.
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