The top reported proficiency rate is 74% in Science. The lowest is 46% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Pierce Street Elementary School
Pierce Street Elementary sits on Pierce Street in Tupelo, serving the upper elementary years, grades three through six, though the sixth-grade presence is minimal. The school is part of the Tupelo Public School District. Its enrollment is moderate for an upper elementary building, with the large majority of students spread across third, fourth, and fifth grades. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body is majority Black, with a sizable white population and smaller Hispanic, multiracial, and Asian groups. Data on students with individualized education programs and English learners was not available, so those population details are absent here.
State assessment results from the most recent year of MAAP testing show a clear pattern: proficiency strengthens as students move up through the grades. Third-grade math proficiency sits on the lower side, with roughly a third of tested students reaching proficient or above. By fourth grade that figure crosses the halfway mark, and fifth grade nudges higher still. English language arts follows the same upward arc, with third grade below half, fourth grade just above, and fifth grade reaching a level where nearly two-thirds of tested students demonstrated proficiency. Fifth-grade science stands out as a particular strength, with a strong majority of students meeting or exceeding proficiency. The progression across grades suggests the school's instruction in the upper elementary band is yielding solid results, especially in reading and science. Third grade, in both math and ELA, is the comparatively softer area. A parent whose child is entering third grade may want to look into how the school supports early-grade transitions and foundational skill building. Participation rates were not reported for any of the tested grades. No multi-year trend data was available, so it is unclear whether these results reflect a stable pattern or a recent shift. The school has no graduation rate because it does not serve high school grades, and that metric does not apply here.
Tupelo itself is a regional anchor for northeast Mississippi. The city grew around furniture manufacturing and has since diversified into healthcare, retail, and financial services. Publicly reported sources note that Tupelo is the smallest U.S. city to host the headquarters of more than one bank with substantial assets, with Cadence Bank and Renasant Bank both based there. North Mississippi Medical Center, described as the largest non-metropolitan hospital in the country, is another major employer. The daytime population swells as workers commute in from surrounding communities.
The built environment is largely auto-oriented, consistent with a mid-sized Southern city spread across a wide footprint. Highways including U.S. 45, U.S. 78, and Interstate 22 run through or near the city. The downtown Main Street corridor has an active management association and received national recognition for its revitalization work, so there is a walkable commercial core, though the broader city relies heavily on driving. Civic and cultural anchors include the Natchez Trace Parkway headquarters, the Elvis Presley Birthplace, and a large multipurpose arena that is publicly reported to be the biggest of its kind in the state. A regional airport with commercial airline service connects the city to broader travel networks.
Housing in the school's zip code is modestly priced relative to national figures, sitting below the state benchmark and well below the national one. A typical home value here is in the low two-hundred-thousand range, and rents are correspondingly affordable, with rent taking up a relatively small share of household income compared with mortgage costs. Home values have been appreciating at a moderate pace year over year, and rents have risen somewhat faster. For families weighing purchase versus rental, the monthly cost of owning appears higher than renting by a meaningful margin, which may shape decisions for households on tighter budgets.
We looked for recent parent-relevant changes in the Tupelo Public School District but found little that cleared a lasting-impact threshold, so that material was left out rather than guessed. No program offerings, course-access data, discipline data, staffing figures, or attendance information were available for this school. Civil-rights data was also absent. The picture here is built primarily from the assessment results, enrollment and demographic profile, housing market context, and the publicly reported character of Tupelo itself.
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