The top reported proficiency rate is 98% in Science. The lowest is 82% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Barack H Obama Elementary School
Barack H. Obama Elementary School sits on North Congress Street in Jackson, serving kindergarten through fifth grade as part of Jackson Public School District. The source data identifies it as a magnet elementary school. Enrollment is small and remarkably even across grade levels, with roughly the same number of students in each grade from kindergarten through fifth.
The student body is almost entirely Black, with a tiny number of students from other racial backgrounds. Every student in the building qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch. Data on students with individualized education programs and English learners was not reported, so those populations cannot be characterized here. The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report.
On state assessments, this school's results are a clear strength. Proficiency rates across tested grades and subjects are high, and in some cases very high. Fifth grade stands out: nearly all students reached proficiency in science, and the same was true in math and English language arts. Third grade English language arts was similarly strong. Fourth grade was the relatively softer spot, with proficiency dipping below the other grades in both math and English language arts, though still representing a solid majority of tested students. These are single-year results, and no multi-year trend data was available to show whether this performance pattern is stable or changing. Participation rates were also not reported.
The school is in Hinds County, within the city of Jackson. Jackson is Mississippi's capital and largest city, positioned on the Pearl River at the crossing of two interstate highways. Publicly reported information describes a sprawling, auto-dependent city whose major employers include a large medical center, the school district itself, and a Nissan manufacturing plant. The city has experienced substantial population decline over the past decade, with development pressure shifting toward suburban counties to the north and east. Jackson has also faced serious infrastructure challenges, including a widely reported water system failure. Cultural anchors include multiple museums, Jackson State University, and Millsaps College. The school sits in a part of the city where state government buildings and institutional campuses cluster.
Housing in the school's zip code is modest in cost relative to national levels, sitting close to the Mississippi state benchmark. Home values in this zip code have declined modestly over the past year, while rents have risen somewhat. The price-to-income ratio suggests that homeownership here is more attainable than in many parts of the country, and rents consume a relatively small share of typical household income. Mortgage rates nationally have been hovering in the mid-six percent range.
At the district level, Jackson Public School District recently adopted a strategic plan covering the next several years, which is intended to guide curriculum, instruction, and resource allocation. Beyond that publicly reported detail, specific changes to programs, facilities, or policies that would directly affect families at this school were not available in the data provided.
Several categories of information that parents often look for were not present. There was no data on discipline, course access, staffing ratios, attendance, or school climate. No Title I status was reported. No locale classification, such as urban or suburban designation, was provided for the school specifically, though its location in central Jackson is clear. No comparison set against neighboring schools or districts was available. No program offerings beyond the magnet designation were listed. Parents considering this school may want to ask the administration directly about staffing, special education services, and the admissions process for the magnet program, since those details were not captured in the available data.
What the data does show is an elementary school with strong academic outcomes on state tests, a small and cohesive student body, and a location in a city navigating well-documented economic and infrastructure challenges while retaining its role as the state's governmental and cultural center.
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