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If you could change one rule at J.F. WAHL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, what would it be?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
539
Elementary
DISTRICT 489 · STATE 418
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·HELENA WEST HELENA SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 050768001637
J.F. WAHL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
125 HICKORY HILL, HELENA, AR 72342 · (870) 338-4404 · Phillips County
GRADES PK–06ELEMENTARY41-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL539 STUDENTS
D
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 6% of Arkansas public elementary schools
- DTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- DBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Arkansas public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
15.5:1
35 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 11.7:1 · STATE 16.0:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
100%
539 students
DISTRICT 97% · 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 | 51 | 9% |
| Kindergarten | 57 | 11% |
| Grade 1 | 68 | 13% |
| Grade 2 | 74 | 14% |
| Grade 3 | 94 | 17% |
| Grade 4 | 62 | 12% |
| Grade 5 | 61 | 11% |
| Grade 6 | 72 | 13% |
This year's kindergarten class (57) is 21% smaller than its 6th grade class (72).
Student demographics
17%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 13% · 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
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
J.F. WAHL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL→CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL
Based on grade levels within HELENA WEST HELENA SCHOOL DISTRICT. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
ATLAS 2024-25 . % Proficient (Level 3+4)English Language Arts
14.6%
AR avg 34.9% . +0.4pp since 2023
Math
11.5%
AR avg 38.9% . +1.2pp since 2023
What this means: On the ATLAS, Arkansas's statewide test, about 15 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 12 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 up about 1 points.
ATLAS results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 14.6% | 11.5% |
| 2023-24 | 14.2% | 10.3% |
% 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
12.4%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
22.7%
based on AR schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-10.3pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 12% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 23% 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 J.F. WAHL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
J.F. WAHL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL's state test result (12.4% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| J.F. WAHL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL this school | 539 | 100.0% | 12.4% |
| KIPP DELTA ELEMENTARY LITERACY ACADEMY WEST HELENA | 463 | 100.0% | 17.4% |
| FAULK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL WEST MEMPHIS | 523 | 100.0% | 9.1% |
| JACKSON WONDER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL WEST MEMPHIS | 554 | 99.8% | 9.9% |
| STEPHENS ELEMENTARY LITTLE ROCK | 474 | 99.4% | 8.1% |
| ANNA STRONG LEARNING ACADEMY MARIANNA | 417 | 99.8% | 17.9% |
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 J.F. WAHL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Arkansas |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 12.4% | #437 of 461 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 11.5% | #441 of 465 ▼ 2 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 14.6% | #435 of 465 ▼ 4 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 539 | #119 of 531 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.5:1 | #187 of 480 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 17.1% | #409 of 480 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 100% | #38 of 513 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -27.9% | #43 of 311 |
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
539
-69 (-11%) vs 2020
Student : Teacher
15.5:1
was 15.6:1
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 | 539 | 34.8 | 15.5:1 | 100% (539) |
| 2023-24 | 541 | 36 | 15.0:1 | 100% (541) |
| 2022-23 | 519 | 33.9 | 15.3:1 | 100% (519) |
| 2020-21 | 608 | 39 | 15.6:1 | 100% (608) |
| 2017-18 | 748 | 49.3 | 15.2:1 | 26% (196) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for J.F. WAHL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
About J.F. WAHL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Located in HELENA, Arkansas, J.F. WAHL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is a medium-sized elementary school. The school reports 539 students in pre-K through 6. The school's enrollment is 29% larger than the 418 average for elementary schools in Arkansas.
HELENA WEST HELENA SCHOOL DISTRICT includes 2 schools. Together they enroll 978 students.
Most students at J.F. WAHL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL are Black: 91% of enrollment. Smaller groups are 5% White. For comparison, the population of Phillips County is roughly 61% Black. J.F. WAHL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL has a diversity index of 17%, compared with 70% for all US public school students.
J.F. WAHL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL employs 34.8 full-time-equivalent teachers. That gives a ratio of about 15.5:1. Elementary schools in Arkansas average about 16.0:1, a similar figure. J.F. WAHL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL's free or reduced-price lunch eligibility rate is 100%. That is close to the 99% average for public schools in Phillips County.
allk12 grades J.F. WAHL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL a D. The grade compares the school only with Arkansas public elementary schools, because each state gives its own test.
Based on its free or reduced-price lunch share, the BeatsExpectations model predicts an average proficiency rate on state tests of 22.7% for J.F. WAHL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. The school posts 12.4%, 10.3 points below the prediction.
Phillips County has these Census figures: median household income is about $40,134, about 15% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 25%. J.F. WAHL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is among the 9 public schools in Phillips County.
CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.8 miles away. Counting only straight-line distance, 4 other public schools are within five miles. On proficiency, J.F. WAHL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is behind the 25.9% nearby average, ranking 8th of 9.
The school's setting, by NCES definition, is Rural: Fringe: in rural territory close to an urban area.
Between 2020-21 and 2024-25, the student count dropped from 608 to 539.
Posts about school safety, transportation, and start times are welcome on this page. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
Phillips County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
15,450
Census ACS
Median income
$40,134
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
15%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
25%
Below federal line
Schools in county
9
2,669 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in HELENA WEST HELENA SCHOOL DISTRICT
- CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 439 students
Other schools in HELENA
- KIPP:DELTA COLLEGIATE HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 181 students
- KIPP:DELTA COLLEGE PREP SCHOOLMiddle · 163 students
Nearby schools
- CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL0.8 mi · 439
- KIPP DELTA ELEMENTARY LITERACY ACADEMY1.1 mi · 463
- KIPP:DELTA COLLEGE PREP SCHOOL1.8 mi · 163
- KIPP:DELTA COLLEGIATE HIGH SCHOOL2.0 mi · 181
- BARTON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL8.4 mi · 342
- BARTON HIGH SCHOOL8.5 mi · 322
Frequently asked questions
About J.F. WAHL ELEMENTARY SCHOOLWhat is the total enrollment at J.F. WAHL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL?
J.F. WAHL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL enrolls approximately 539 students in grades PK-06.
Is J.F. WAHL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL an elementary, middle, or high school?
J.F. WAHL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is an elementary school covering grades PK-06.
How many students per teacher at J.F. WAHL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL?
Approximately 15.5:1 students per teacher at J.F. WAHL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
How diverse is J.F. WAHL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL?
J.F. WAHL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL reports a student body of 5% White, 1% Hispanic, 91% Black, 1% Asian, 1% Two or more.
Is J.F. WAHL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL public or private?
J.F. WAHL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is a public K-12 school, overseen by HELENA WEST HELENA SCHOOL DISTRICT.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.