The top reported proficiency rate is 58% in Science. The lowest is 41% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Dundee Elementary School
Dundee Elementary School sits in a very small, rural unincorporated community in Tunica County, Mississippi, along Old Highway 61 South. It serves pre-kindergarten through fifth grade and is part of the Tunica County School District. The school is one of only two civic anchors in Dundee, the other being a part-time post office. There is no walkable commercial district, no public library, no transit, and no evidence of parks or recreational infrastructure in the community. For families, this is a deeply rural setting where the school functions as the primary local institution.
The student body is small for a school serving six grade levels plus pre-kindergarten. Nearly all students are Black or African American, with a tiny number of Hispanic and multiracial students. Every student qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, which reflects the limited economic means of the surrounding area. Data on special education enrollment and English learner status was not available, so those populations cannot be characterized here. The broader community has roughly the same racial composition as the school, according to publicly reported Census figures.
On Mississippi's MAAP state assessment for the most recent school year, results are mixed and should be read with the understanding that tested groups are small, which means a few students can move a grade-level result noticeably. In math, the share of students reaching proficiency sits in the middle range across grades three through five, with fourth grade the strongest of the three. In English language arts, fourth grade stands out as a clear strength, with a majority of tested students proficient, while third grade is middling and fifth grade is the weakest showing, with fewer than a third of tested students reaching proficiency. Science, tested only in fifth grade, is the school's strongest result, with a solid majority of students proficient. There is no multi-year trend data available, so it is not possible to say whether these results are improving, holding steady, or declining over time. A parent may want to ask the school what supports are in place for fifth-grade literacy in particular, given that it is the lowest result across subjects and grades.
Housing in the Dundee ZIP code is inexpensive relative to both Mississippi and the nation. Typical home values sit well below the state benchmark and far below the national one, and recent values have edged downward modestly. Rental data was not available. For a family considering a move to the area, housing is affordable on a price basis, but the tradeoff is limited local commerce and services. Nearby employment opportunities are sparse within the community itself, and residents likely look toward Tunica, the county seat roughly a dozen miles northeast, for shopping, healthcare, and work. After fifth grade, students leave Dundee for Tunica Middle School and then Rosa Fort High School, both presumably closer to the county seat.
Information on school discipline, course access, staffing ratios, attendance, Title I status, and magnet or charter designation was either not reported or not available. The school is not a charter school. We looked for recent district-level changes that might affect families, such as curriculum shifts, facility investments, or tax changes, and found nothing specific to report. The district brief turned up no confirmed parent-relevant developments from recent months.
What the available evidence describes is a small, community-rooted elementary school in an isolated rural place, serving an economically disadvantaged student population with uneven but not weak overall state test results, a bright spot in fifth-grade science and fourth-grade reading, and a soft spot in fifth-grade reading. Families drawn to this school are likely choosing it for proximity and community connection rather than for program breadth or amenities, since the surrounding area offers very little beyond the school and post office. Parents considering Dundee Elementary would do well to visit, ask about literacy supports in the upper elementary grades, and understand what the transition to middle school in Tunica looks like for their children.
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