1
What's the vibe like in the hallways at ELMER H. COOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL right now?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
459
Elementary
DISTRICT 354 · STATE 418
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·FORT SMITH SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 050633000359
ELMER H. COOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
3517 BROOKEN HILL DR, FORT SMITH, AR 72908 · (479) 646-8880 · Sebastian County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY13-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL459 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
19.4:1
24 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 18.1:1 · STATE 16.0:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
57%
262 students
DISTRICT 78% · STATE 70%
Community
6
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 20 | 4% |
| Kindergarten | 71 | 15% |
| Grade 1 | 76 | 17% |
| Grade 2 | 77 | 17% |
| Grade 3 | 73 | 16% |
| Grade 4 | 73 | 16% |
| Grade 5 | 69 | 15% |
This year's kindergarten class (71) is about the same size as its 5th grade class (69).
Student demographics
65%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 71% · STATE 61% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
ATLAS 2024-25 . % Proficient (Level 3+4)English Language Arts
51.8%
AR avg 34.9% . +0.4pp since 2023
Math
48.2%
AR avg 38.9% . -5.6pp since 2023
What this means: On the ATLAS, Arkansas's statewide test, about 52 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 48 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Arkansas schools, those numbers are about 35 and 39. Reading and writing scores have held steady since 2023, while math scores are down about 6 points.
ATLAS results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 51.8% | 48.2% |
| 2023-24 | 51.4% | 53.8% |
% Proficient (Level 3+4), all students and all tested grades.
Source: ATLAS. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
49.1%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
38.6%
based on AR schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+10.5pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 49% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 39% typical for Arkansas schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Arkansas's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like ELMER H. COOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
ELMER H. COOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL's state test result (49.1% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| ELMER H. COOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL this school | 459 | 57.1% | 49.1% |
| GENTRY INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL GENTRY | 416 | 55.5% | 42.4% |
| EUPER LANE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL FORT SMITH | 397 | 61.5% | 43.3% |
| RENA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL VAN BUREN | 414 | 54.8% | 44.4% |
| SEQUOYAH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL RUSSELLVILLE | 542 | 54.6% | 58.0% |
| LAKESIDE PRIMARY SCHOOL HOT SPRINGS | 583 | 50.8% | N/A |
Matched among Arkansas elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where ELMER H. COOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Arkansas | In Sebastian County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 49.1% | #87 of 461 | #4 of 23 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 48.2% | #138 of 465 ▼ 65 | #6 of 23 ▼ 3 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 51.8% | #69 of 465 ▼ 6 | #4 of 23 ▲ 1 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 459 | #203 of 531 | #8 of 23 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 19.4:1 | #457 of 480 | #21 of 21 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 65.2% | #64 of 480 | #8 of 21 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 57.1% | #380 of 513 | #19 of 23 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -21.3% | #80 of 311 | #6 of 18 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
459
-75 (-14%) vs 2020
-12% since 1990-91, when it was 524
Student : Teacher
19.4:1
was 17.2:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 459 | 23.7 | 19.4:1 | 57% (262) |
| 2023-24 | 494 | 25.7 | 19.3:1 | 55% (270) |
| 2022-23 | 500 | 25.5 | 19.6:1 | 56% (282) |
| 2020-21 | 534 | 31 | 17.2:1 | 59% (313) |
| 2017-18 | 583 | 33.3 | 17.5:1 | 28% (161) |
| 2015-16 | 602 | 33 | 18.2:1 | 48% (291) |
| 2010-11 | 638 | 34 | 18.8:1 | 41% (261) |
| 2000-01 | 586 | 28 | 20.9:1 | 27% (157) |
| 1990-91 | 524 | 22 | 23.8:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for ELMER H. COOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
About ELMER H. COOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
ELMER H. COOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is an elementary school in FORT SMITH, Arkansas, according to federal school records. The school's 459 students are in pre-K through 5.
FORT SMITH SCHOOL DISTRICT, which runs ELMER H. COOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, has 27 schools and 14,164 students.
Roughly 53% of students at ELMER H. COOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL are White. Other groups make up 20% multiracial, 14% Hispanic, 8% Black, and 4% Asian. County-wide, 68% of Sebastian County residents are White. Pick two students at random and there is a 65% chance they belong to different racial or ethnic groups; that figure is the school's diversity index.
At ELMER H. COOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, 23.7 full-time-equivalent teachers work with students, a ratio of about 19.4:1. That is 3.4 students per teacher above the 16.0:1 average for elementary schools in Arkansas. Students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch make up 57% of enrollment.
The BeatsExpectations prediction for ELMER H. COOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is 38.6%, and its average proficiency rate on state tests is 49.1%.
Sebastian County has about 128,900 residents, and the median household income is $57,790, 23% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 11% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Besides ELMER H. COOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, Sebastian County has 43 other public schools.
BEARD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is located about 1.6 miles from ELMER H. COOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. The five-mile area around ELMER H. COOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL holds at least 8 other public schools. The nearest schools with test data average 39.8%, lower than ELMER H. COOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL's 49.1%.
The school's federal locale classification is City: Small.
ELMER H. COOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL's enrollment declined from 534 in 2020-21 to 459 in 2024-25. Federal data show the ratio rising from 17.2:1 to 19.4:1.
Community posts for ELMER H. COOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL can cover school safety, transportation, and start times. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
Sebastian County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
128,900
Census ACS
Median income
$57,790
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
23%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
11%
Below federal line
Schools in county
44
20,239 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in FORT SMITH SCHOOL DISTRICT
- NORTHSIDE HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 2,231 students
- SOUTHSIDE HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 2,053 students
- RAMSEY MIDDLE SCHOOLMiddle · 801 students
- DORA KIMMONS MIDDLE SCHOOLMiddle · 753 students
- L. A. CHAFFIN MIDDLE SCHOOLMiddle · 753 students
- WILLIAM O. DARBY MIDDLE SCHOOLMiddle · 711 students
Other schools in FORT SMITH
- NORTHSIDE HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 2,231 students
- SOUTHSIDE HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 2,053 students
- RAMSEY MIDDLE SCHOOLMiddle · 801 students
- DORA KIMMONS MIDDLE SCHOOLMiddle · 753 students
- L. A. CHAFFIN MIDDLE SCHOOLMiddle · 753 students
- WILLIAM O. DARBY MIDDLE SCHOOLMiddle · 711 students
Nearby schools
- BEARD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL1.6 mi · 297
- CAVANAUGH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL2.0 mi · 303
- HAAS HALL ACADEMY FORT SMITH2.0 mi · 101
- CARNALL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL2.8 mi · 172
- RAYMOND F. ORR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL3.0 mi · 235
- SOUTHSIDE HIGH SCHOOL3.7 mi · 2,053
Frequently asked questions
About ELMER H. COOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOLHow large is ELMER H. COOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL?
ELMER H. COOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL enrolls approximately 459 students in grades PK-05.
What age range does ELMER H. COOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL serve?
ELMER H. COOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL serves students from grade PK through grade 05.
How many students per teacher at ELMER H. COOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL?
Approximately 19.4:1 students per teacher at ELMER H. COOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
How diverse is ELMER H. COOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL?
ELMER H. COOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL reports a student body of 53% White, 14% Hispanic, 8% Black, 4% Asian, 20% Two or more.
Is ELMER H. COOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL public or private?
ELMER H. COOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is a public K-12 school, overseen by FORT SMITH SCHOOL DISTRICT.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.