BALE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

BALE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL operates as a close-knit elementary-level community in LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas, one of the schools within LITTLE ROCK SCHOOL DISTRICT. Current enrollment sits at 330 students spanning grades K through 5. Compared to the state average of about 418 students per school, that is 21% leaner than typical.

Within LITTLE ROCK SCHOOL DISTRICT, which oversees 40 schools and 22,320 students, BALE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is one campus in the system.

On the student-mix side, BALE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL lists that 71% of the student body identifies as Black. Beyond that, the school logs 17% Hispanic, 5% multiracial, 5% White. That is meaningfully more Black than the county at large, where the share is closer to 37%.

In terms of school funding signals, On paper, BALE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL has 22 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 15.0:1. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 16.0:1 average. About 99% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy. That share is higher than Pulaski County's rate of about 71%.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, BALE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL falls in the UNDERPERFORMING tier of the BeatsExpectations residual. Given its student profile, a typical campus would land near 22.6%; this one comes in at 7.8%, -14.8 points off the demographic line.

In the surrounding community, ACS estimates for Pulaski County put median household earnings sit near $62,873, roughly 38% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and the poverty rate sits near 13%. Across Pulaski County's 133 public schools (combined enrollment of about 64,124 students), BALE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is one campus in the mix.

The closest other public school is WESTERN HILLS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, roughly 1.1 miles away. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around BALE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts BALE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL at 4th of 7; the average score across the group is 16.0%.

The school occupies a metropolitan site.

Looking at the recent track record. Over the past 7-year window, the student count contracted 25%: 441 students in 2018 compared to 330 in 2025. Over the same period, the Black share shrank from 76% to 71%.

On the community side, the feed for BALE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL typically covers school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. Members of the school community can share what they know.