The top reported proficiency rate is 70% in Science. The lowest is 51% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Singing River Academy
Singing River Academy sits on Vancleave Road in Gautier, Mississippi, serving fifth and sixth graders as part of the Pascagoula-Gautier School District. It is an intermediate school, bridging elementary and middle grades, and its enrollment is moderate for a two-grade configuration. The student body is racially mixed, with Black students forming the largest group, followed by white students, then a smaller Hispanic population and a scattering of multiracial and Asian students. Every student qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, which places the school in a universally low-income designation. The school does not carry charter or magnet status.
On Mississippi's MAAP assessments for the most recent school year, Singing River Academy produced mixed but generally solid results. Fifth graders performed strongest in science, where a clear majority tested proficient or above. English language arts results for fifth grade were also a relative bright spot, with a solid majority reaching proficiency. Math proficiency in fifth grade landed just above the halfway mark. Sixth grade results dipped across both math and ELA, with fewer than half of tested sixth graders reaching proficiency in each subject. This pattern of stronger fifth-grade scores and softer sixth-grade outcomes is one a parent may want to explore with the school, particularly around the transition these students are navigating and what instructional supports are in place for sixth grade. No participation rate data was reported, and no multi-year trend information was available, so it is not possible to say whether these results represent improvement, decline, or stability over time. IEP and English learner counts were not reported, so the share of students receiving special education or language services is unknown from the available data.
Because Singing River Academy serves only fifth and sixth grades, there is no graduation rate to report and no high school course access data such as AP or dual-credit offerings. Those metrics simply do not apply to this grade band. Civil rights and discipline data were not provided, nor were staffing or attendance figures, so those dimensions of school environment could not be assessed.
Gautier itself is a bedroom community on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, situated between bayous, wetlands, and the Pascagoula River. Residents commute to employment centers outside the city, chiefly the Ingalls shipyard in neighboring Pascagoula and coastal casinos throughout the region. The city has no traditional walkable downtown; commercial life clusters along the U.S. Route 90 corridor, and a car is essential for getting around. Interstate 10 crosses the northern city limits with exits near the school's area. Gautier's identity leans heavily on natural amenities, with the Pascagoula River, locally called the Singing River, forming the eastern border, and wildlife refuges and state parkland nearby. The Jackson County Campus of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College sits in Gautier as an educational anchor beyond the K-12 system.
Housing here is affordable relative to state and national benchmarks. Typical home values in the school's zip code sit well below the national median and modestly below the Mississippi state benchmark, while rents are similarly moderate. The price-to-income ratio suggests that owning is within reach for many local households compared to much of the country. Gautier's population has grown unevenly over the years, shaped by a large annexation, a hurricane-related downturn, and a steady recovery since. Publicly reported sources describe expectations of continued steady growth without identifying specific new housing developments.
One district-level change worth noting for families: Jackson Elementary School is scheduled to close after the upcoming school year, which will redraw attendance zones and shift where Gautier families send their elementary-aged children. While Singing River Academy itself is not an elementary school, families with younger children feeding into it may be affected by these boundary changes, so anyone moving into the area should check with the district on the redrawn zones.
For a family evaluating Singing River Academy, the picture is of a small intermediate school serving a universally low-income, racially diverse student body in an affordable, car-dependent coastal community. Academic results are strongest in fifth grade, particularly in science and ELA, with a noticeable slide in sixth grade that warrants attention. The school occupies a narrow two-year window in a child's education, and its value depends heavily on how well it supports that transition.
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