The top reported proficiency rate is 57% in Science. The lowest is 38% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Nicholson Elementary School
Nicholson Elementary School sits on Highway 11 South in Picayune, Mississippi, serving kindergarten through sixth grade as part of the Picayune School District. It is a mid-sized elementary school for its grade band, drawing from a community that functions as both a residential hub and a local commercial center in Pearl River County. Picayune sits roughly equidistant from New Orleans, Hattiesburg, and Gulfport-Biloxi, and the Stennis Space Center, a NASA rocket testing facility, lies a short drive away and serves as a major regional employer. After Hurricane Katrina, Picayune absorbed many relocating residents from the New Orleans area and the Mississippi Gulf Coast, which shaped its residential character. The city was later added to the New Orleans metropolitan area. A historic downtown along Goodyear Boulevard anchors civic life, with City Hall, the Margaret Reed Crosby Memorial Library, and a Main Street program that organizes music events, sidewalk sales, and a gumbo cookoff. Amtrak's Crescent train provides daily service connecting Picayune to New Orleans, Atlanta, Birmingham, and points north. Outside the downtown core, the city is largely car-dependent, with U.S. Route 11 running through town and Interstate 59 providing regional access.
The school's enrollment is diverse. White students make up the largest single group, followed by Black students and a substantial share of students identified as two or more races, with small numbers of Hispanic, Asian, and American Indian or Alaska Native students. Every student at Nicholson 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 in the provided records, so those populations cannot be characterized here.
On Mississippi's state assessments, Nicholson's results are mixed and vary sharply by grade and subject. Third-grade math proficiency is a relative bright spot, with a majority of tested students scoring proficient or above. Third-grade English language arts is more moderate, with roughly half of tested students reaching proficiency. Fourth-grade results dip in both subjects, with fewer than half of students proficient in math and about a third proficient in ELA. Fifth grade is where the data is weakest: math proficiency drops sharply, with only a small fraction of students scoring proficient, though fifth-grade science is considerably stronger, with a majority reaching proficiency. Fifth-grade ELA lands in between, with a moderate share proficient. Sixth-grade results show math proficiency in the middle range and ELA proficiency lower, with fewer than a third of tested students reaching proficiency. Participation rates were not reported, so it is not possible to assess how fully the tested population represents the enrolled student body. The sharp fifth-grade math drop is the kind of result a parent may want to look into further with the school, to understand whether it reflects a cohort issue, a curricular transition, or something else.
The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report, and that absence reflects the grade band rather than any gap in performance. No data on charter or magnet status, Title I status, discipline, course access, staffing, or attendance was available in the provided records, so those dimensions cannot be addressed. Program offerings were not included either, so a parent would need to contact the school directly to understand what is available beyond core instruction.
Housing in the 39466 zip code is affordable relative to national levels, with typical home values sitting below both the state and national benchmarks. The estimated monthly mortgage on a typical home is modest, and the price-to-income ratio is favorable compared with the national figure, which suggests that families looking to buy near the school face a relatively accessible market. Rental data was not available. The local housing market has seen modest recent appreciation.
Nicholson Elementary fits families looking for a small-town setting with regional access to larger metro areas, affordable housing, and a community shaped by its post-Katucky growth. The academic picture is uneven: strong in early-grade math and fifth-grade science, weaker in the middle elementary grades and in sixth-grade ELA. Families considering this school should weigh those patterns and ask the school about its approach to the grades and subjects where proficiency lags.
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