The top reported proficiency rate is 83% in Science. The lowest is 53% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Grace Christian Elementary School
Grace Christian Elementary School sits on West Seventh Street in Hattiesburg, serving children from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade as part of the Hattiesburg Public School District. It is a traditional public school, not a charter. The enrollment is modest for its grade band, with children spread fairly evenly across the early grades. Every student enrolled qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body is predominantly Black, with a small share identifying as two or more races and a scattering of White, Asian, and Hispanic students.
Hattiesburg is a mid-sized city that anchors the Pine Belt region. Publicly reported sources describe it as a university town, home to the University of Southern Mississippi and William Carey University, with a younger median age than many Mississippi communities. The city earned the nickname "The Hub City" from its origins as a railroad and lumber center, and it sits at the crossroads of several major highways and Interstate 59. Camp Shelby, the largest National Guard training base east of the Mississippi River, lies just south of the city and brings a steady military presence. The built environment is largely auto-oriented, with walkable pockets concentrated downtown and in the historic neighborhood district, a collection of Victorian-era homes recognized by the American Planning Association. Housing in the school's zip code runs well below both state and national benchmarks for home values, and rents are modest enough that renting costs less than carrying a mortgage at current interest rates. The area absorbed growth pressure after Hurricane Katrina displaced coastal residents, and the city has described itself as being on an upward trajectory.
On state assessments, Grace Christian shows a pattern worth paying attention to. Third-grade math proficiency is a strong majority, with most tested students reaching proficient or above. Fourth-grade math holds close to that level. Fifth-grade math, though, drops off considerably, with fewer than half of tested students reaching proficiency. English language arts follows a similar arc: third grade is the strongest, fourth grade dips, and fifth grade falls further. Science tells a different and encouraging story. Fifth-grade science proficiency is the school's brightest spot, with the large majority of tested students scoring proficient or above. A parent looking at these results might want to ask the school what supports are in place as children move from fourth into fifth grade, particularly in math and reading, where the slide is most visible.
The broader district context offers some reassurance. Publicly reported information indicates that Hattiesburg Public School District has earned the state's highest accountability rating for multiple consecutive years and has been recognized with a Governor's Award of Distinction. That district-level track record suggests the system as a whole is performing well, even if individual grade-level results at Grace Christian vary.
Several pieces of information a parent might want were not available. The dataset does not include special education or English learner enrollment figures for this school, so it is hard to gauge what share of students receive those services. Participation rates for the state assessments are also missing, which means it is unclear whether all eligible students were tested. No multi-year trend data was available, so there is no way to tell from this information whether the current proficiency patterns represent improvement, decline, or stability. We found no data on school programs, course offerings, staffing levels, discipline, attendance, or Title I status. For a school serving only pre-kindergarten through fifth grade, the absence of graduation rate, college readiness, or career-pathway data reflects the grade band rather than a reporting omission. We looked for a comparison set positioning this school against its neighbors in the county but found none available.
Grace Christian fits a family looking for a small, community-rooted elementary school within a district that has built a strong overall reputation. The early-grade performance and the fifth-grade science results are genuine strengths. The fifth-grade dip in math and reading is something a parent would want to investigate directly with the school before making a decision.
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