The top reported proficiency rate is 86% in Math. The lowest is 79% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Laurel Magnet School of the Arts
Laurel Magnet School of the Arts sits in the heart of Laurel, a small South Mississippi city with deep roots in the timber industry. The school serves pre-kindergarten through sixth grade and operates within the Laurel School District, the public system that covers nearly all of the city. Its name signals an arts-focused magnet identity, though the available data does not describe specific arts programming, audition or admission criteria, or how the magnet theme shapes the daily curriculum. A parent interested in the arts emphasis would want to ask the school directly about what that looks like in practice.
The student body is small for a school spanning eight grade levels. Enrollment is predominantly Black, with small numbers of Hispanic, white, multiracial, and Asian students. Every student qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, which places the school in a high-poverty context by the standard federal measure. Data on special education enrollment and English learners was not reported, so those population details are unknown here.
On Mississippi's MAAP assessments from the most recent school year, the academic results are a genuine strength. Math proficiency climbs sharply from third grade upward. Third grade shows a solid majority of students proficient, and by fourth, fifth, and sixth grades the proficiency levels rise to very high levels, with sixth grade near the top of what the state typically sees. English language arts follows a similar arc, with third grade as the relative soft spot but still showing most students proficient, and fourth and fifth grades reaching strong levels. Sixth-grade ELA dips from the fifth-grade peak but remains well above where many schools serving similar economic contexts land. Fifth-grade science proficiency is also strong. Across all tested grades and subjects, the school outperforms what demographic predictors alone would suggest, and a parent reading these results can feel confident that instruction in the upper elementary grades is producing measurable academic growth.
The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report. Pre-kindergarten through second grade are not assessed under the state testing system, so no results exist for those grades. No multi-year trend data was available, which means the current year's results stand alone without context about whether performance is rising, falling, or holding steady over time.
Laurel itself is a city of contrasts. Publicly reported sources describe a place that grew wealthy during the timber era of the early twentieth century, building broad avenues, public parks, and a historic district with architecture now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Lauren Rogers Museum of Art, Mississippi's oldest art museum, sits as a civic anchor. Employment today centers on manufacturing and healthcare, with employers like Howard Industries, Sanderson Farms, Masonite International, and South Central Regional Medical Center. The city's population peaked decades ago and has declined by roughly a third since, a pattern common to manufacturing towns across the South. More recently, HGTV's "Hometown" series has drawn tourists and renovation activity to the historic downtown and older neighborhoods, adding a layer of renewed interest to a city still working through long-term economic contraction.
Housing in the school's zip code is inexpensive by any standard benchmark. Typical home values sit well below the Mississippi statewide level and far below national figures, and recent movement has been downward. Estimated monthly mortgage costs are modest. No rental data was available for this area. For a family considering a move, the housing market near the school is accessible, though the declining value trend reflects the broader economic pressures the community faces. Interstate 59 runs through the city, and the Hattiesburg-Laurel Regional Airport is a short drive southwest, keeping the city connected to larger regional hubs.
We looked for recent district-level changes or strategic initiatives from the Laurel School District and found little of lasting impact in publicly available sources, so there is nothing specific to report on that front. The school's Title I status, staffing details, discipline data, and course access information were not provided in the available dataset. A parent weighing this school should treat the strong assessment results as a solid foundation for conversation and ask the school to fill in the picture on arts programming, student support services, and how the magnet theme shapes the school day.
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