The top reported proficiency rate is 77% in Math. The lowest is 55% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Cherokee Elementary School
Cherokee Elementary sits on Scovel Road in Pascagoula, a Gulf Coast city where heavy industry and family life coexist. The school serves kindergarten through fourth grade as part of the Pascagoula-Gautier School District. It is a small school, with enrollment distributed fairly evenly across its five grade levels.
The community context matters here. Pascagoula is a major industrial city, publicly reported as home to Ingalls Shipbuilding, Mississippi's largest employer, and Chevron's largest refinery, along with Bollinger Shipyards, Rolls Royce Naval Marine, and several other industrial employers. The city has a historic downtown core that was once the separate town of Scranton, hosting community events like the Goula Palooza festival. The built environment is generally car-dependent, with U.S. Route 90 running through the city. Civic anchors include Shepard State Park, the Gulf Islands National Seashore, and the Old Spanish Fort, which dates to the mid-eighteenth century. Amtrak's Mardi Gras Service recently began serving the city. Pascagoula's population peaked in the late seventies and early eighties and has slightly declined since. The city has undergone substantial rebuilding since Hurricane Katrina, including protective infrastructure along the beach and requirements for elevated home construction.
Housing in the school's zip code is affordable relative to both state and national benchmarks. Home values sit below the Mississippi statewide figure and well below the national figure, and the price-to-income ratio is favorable. Rents have risen sharply over the past year, though rent remains modest relative to household income. For families considering buying, mortgage payments would exceed rent by a meaningful margin at current rates.
Academically, Cherokee's state assessment results tell a strong story in mathematics. On the most recent MAAP assessments, third-grade math proficiency was solid and fourth-grade math proficiency was even higher, with a clear majority of fourth graders reaching proficient or above. English language arts results were more moderate, with roughly half of tested students in both third and fourth grade reaching proficiency. The gap between math and ELA performance is consistent across both grade levels. A parent may want to look into the school's literacy instruction and reading support in more detail, given that ELA proficiency lags behind the math results. Participation rate data was not reported for any of these assessments, which limits what can be said about how representative these results are of the full student body. No multi-year trend data was available, so it is not possible to say whether these results represent improvement, decline, or stability.
State testing covers only grades three and four at Cherokee, which is expected for a school serving kindergarten through fourth grade. Kindergarten, first, and second graders are not assessed under the state testing program.
The school's student body is diverse. Black students make up the largest group, followed by white and Hispanic students, with smaller proportions identifying as two or more races or Asian. Every student qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, which reflects the economic profile of the surrounding community. Data on students with individualized education programs and English learners was not available, so the picture of special populations is incomplete.
Several categories of information were missing from what was available. The school's Title I status, discipline data, staffing figures, course access details, and attendance information were all absent. No magnet or specialized program designations were indicated. Civil rights data was not provided. A comparison set placing Cherokee among its county peers was not available, so it is not possible to position the school's results relative to nearby schools. Program offerings were not listed, which is typical for an elementary school of this size where specialized electives are less common.
Within the broader district, one change is worth noting for families considering the area. Jackson Elementary School in Gautier is scheduled to close after the upcoming school year, which will redraw attendance zones and shift where some families send their elementary-aged children. This does not directly affect Cherokee's attendance area, but it signals that the district's elementary configuration is in flux.
Cherokee presents as a small, community-rooted elementary school with real strengths in math instruction and a student body that mirrors the working-class, industrial character of Pascagoula itself. The ELA results are the area most worth a parent's attention.
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