The top reported proficiency rate is 55% in Science. The lowest is 49% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Strayhorn Elementary School
Strayhorn Elementary sits in Sarah, a small unincorporated stretch of Tate County along Mississippi Highway 3, where farmland and scattered homes shape the setting. There is no downtown, no commercial corridor, no sidewalks to speak of. The community has a post office and a highway running through it, and Amtrak's City of New Orleans passes on nearby rail lines without stopping. Neighbors know one another here, and the pace follows the agricultural calendar more than anything else. Strayhorn Elementary, part of the Tate County School District, serves students from kindergarten through sixth grade and stands as one of the few civic institutions a family in this area would interact with regularly.
The school's enrollment is moderate for its grade band, with class sizes that stay relatively even from year to year. The student body is predominantly white, with smaller Black, Hispanic, and multiracial groups represented. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which reflects the rural, working character of the surrounding community. Data on students with individualized education programs and English learners was not available, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about those services.
On Mississippi's MAAP assessments, Strayhorn's results paint a mixed picture across grades and subjects. In math, third graders posted a strong proficiency rate, and sixth graders also performed well. Fourth and fifth grade math results dropped considerably lower, creating a visible mid-grade dip that stands out as the most pronounced pattern in the data. A parent might reasonably ask how the school supports students through those transition years. English language arts results were more consistent across grades, sitting in a middle range throughout, with roughly half of tested students reaching proficiency in most grades. Fifth grade science landed in a similar middle range. 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.
The Tate County School District's recent publicly reported changes did not surface in the available research. The record is thin here, and the absence of reported changes does not tell us much either way about curriculum shifts, facility investments, or policy directions a family should be aware of.
Housing in the Sarah zip code is modestly priced relative to the national market, with typical home values sitting below the national benchmark but above the state figure. The price-to-income ratio is moderate, and estimated monthly mortgage costs are manageable by most regional standards. No rental data was available. For a family considering a move to this area, the housing market is relatively accessible, though the tradeoff is a community with almost no walkability, no local commercial amenities, and limited civic infrastructure beyond the school and post office. Growth and development information for Sarah was not found, so it is hard to say whether the area is changing or holding steady.
What Strayhorn offers is a small, rural elementary pathway within a close-knit community where the school functions as a primary gathering point. The academic results suggest a school that does some things well, particularly in early and upper-elementary math, while facing challenges in the middle grades that warrant attention. Families looking for a quiet, agricultural setting with affordable housing and a school where children know their classmates may find this a fit. Those who want richer program offerings, detailed special-population data, or a more walkable, amenity-rich environment will need to look elsewhere or supplement outside the school day.
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