Enrollment
288
Elementary
DISTRICT 271 · STATE 418
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·DIERKS SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 050534000248
JOANN WALTERS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
800 OLD HWY 70 WEST, DIERKS, AR 71833 · (870) 286-2015 · Howard County
GRADES KG–06ELEMENTARY43-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL288 STUDENTS
C+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 44% of Arkansas public elementary schools
- C+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- BBeats 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
14.6:1
20 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 9.6:1 · STATE 16.0:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
86%
249 students
DISTRICT 84% · STATE 70%
Community
0
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 35 | 12% |
| Grade 1 | 38 | 13% |
| Grade 2 | 35 | 12% |
| Grade 3 | 49 | 17% |
| Grade 4 | 39 | 14% |
| Grade 5 | 49 | 17% |
| Grade 6 | 43 | 15% |
This year's kindergarten class (35) is 19% smaller than its 6th grade class (43).
Student demographics
32%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 27% · 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
JOANN WALTERS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL→DIERKS HIGH SCHOOL
Based on grade levels within DIERKS SCHOOL DISTRICT. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
QUIET COMMUNITY
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START A DISCUSSIONTest scores
ATLAS 2024-25 . % Proficient (Level 3+4)English Language Arts
33.0%
AR avg 34.9% . +5.7pp since 2023
Math
36.6%
AR avg 38.9% . +1.9pp since 2023
What this means: On the ATLAS, Arkansas's statewide test, about 33 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 37 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Arkansas schools, those numbers are about 35 and 39. Reading and writing scores are up about 6 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 2 points.
ATLAS results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 33.0% | 36.6% |
| 2023-24 | 27.3% | 34.7% |
% 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
31.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
27.7%
based on AR schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+4.1pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 32% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 28% 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 JOANN WALTERS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
JOANN WALTERS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL's state test result (31.8% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| JOANN WALTERS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL this school | 288 | 86.5% | 31.8% |
| CADDO HILLS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL NORMAN | 348 | 85.3% | 41.3% |
| HORATIO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL HORATIO | 313 | 80.2% | 38.3% |
| JUDSONIA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL JUDSONIA | 307 | 77.2% | 28.4% |
| GUY-PERKINS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL GUY | 247 | 91.9% | 29.6% |
| CUTTER-MORNING STAR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL HOT SPRINGS | 357 | 78.4% | 34.1% |
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 JOANN WALTERS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Arkansas |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 31.8% | #276 of 461 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 36.6% | #253 of 465 ▼ 10 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 33.0% | #261 of 465 ▲ 64 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 288 | #408 of 531 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 14.6:1 | #109 of 480 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 32.4% | #319 of 480 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 86.5% | #174 of 513 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -8.3% | #230 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
288
+26 (+10%) vs 2020
-17% since 1990-91, when it was 349
Student : Teacher
14.6:1
was 11.9:1
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 | 288 | 19.7 | 14.6:1 | 86% (249) |
| 2023-24 | 279 | 18.7 | 14.9:1 | 89% (248) |
| 2022-23 | 288 | 20.9 | 13.8:1 | 85% (244) |
| 2020-21 | 262 | 22 | 11.9:1 | 81% (213) |
| 2017-18 | 314 | 24.6 | 12.8:1 | 44% (139) |
| 2015-16 | 312 | 26 | 12.0:1 | 70% (218) |
| 2010-11 | 336 | 24 | 14.0:1 | 63% (213) |
| 2000-01 | 287 | 21 | 13.7:1 | 47% (134) |
| 1990-91 | 349 | 19 | 18.4:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for JOANN WALTERS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
About JOANN WALTERS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
JOANN WALTERS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is a low-enrollment elementary school found in DIERKS, Arkansas. Grades offered run from kindergarten through 6, with 288 students enrolled. The average among elementary schools in Arkansas is roughly 418 students; this school is 31% smaller than that.
DIERKS SCHOOL DISTRICT is made up of 2 schools with 541 students in all.
The large majority of students at JOANN WALTERS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, 81%, are White. The next largest groups are 14% Hispanic and 5% multiracial. The school's White share is 16 points above the 65% share among Howard County residents. JOANN WALTERS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL has a diversity index of 32%, compared with 70% for all US public school students.
The school reported 19.7 full-time-equivalent teachers in 2024-25 and a ratio of 14.6:1. The 16.0:1 average for elementary schools in Arkansas is higher than this school's figure. Eligible students account for 86% of enrollment in the free or reduced-price lunch program. The gap from the 94% average for public schools in Howard County is 8 points.
JOANN WALTERS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is graded C+ by allk12, scoring above 44% of Arkansas public elementary schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
JOANN WALTERS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL scores 31.8% on state tests, averaged across results. The predicted figure, based on its student poverty level, is 27.7%.
Census Bureau estimates for Howard County show that median household income is about $45,603, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 16% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 22%. JOANN WALTERS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is one of 9 public schools in Howard County, which together enroll about 2,825 students.
DIERKS HIGH SCHOOL is the closest public school, about 0.3 miles away in a straight line. By average proficiency, JOANN WALTERS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is 4th among 8 schools close by.
For locale, NCES codes JOANN WALTERS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL as Rural: Remote.
Federal counts put enrollment at 262 in 2020-21 and 288 in 2024-25, a 10% gain. The student-to-teacher ratio rose from 11.9:1 in 2020-21 to 14.6:1 in 2024-25.
Discussions about JOANN WALTERS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL may include sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
Howard County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
12,583
Census ACS
Median income
$45,603
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
16%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
22%
Below federal line
Schools in county
9
2,825 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Nearby schools
- DIERKS HIGH SCHOOL0.3 mi · 253
- UMPIRE K-12 SCHOOL11.1 mi · 97
- NASHVILLE PRIMARY SCHOOL14.8 mi · 569
- NASHVILLE HIGH SCHOOL15.0 mi · 444
- NASHVILLE JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL15.0 mi · 398
- NASHVILLE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL15.2 mi · 375
Frequently asked questions
About JOANN WALTERS ELEMENTARY SCHOOLHow large is JOANN WALTERS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL?
JOANN WALTERS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL enrolls approximately 288 students in grades KG-06.
Is JOANN WALTERS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL an elementary, middle, or high school?
JOANN WALTERS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is an elementary school covering grades KG-06.
How many teachers does JOANN WALTERS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL have?
JOANN WALTERS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL employs 20 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 14.6:1.
What is the racial breakdown of students at JOANN WALTERS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL?
At JOANN WALTERS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, the student body is approximately 81% White, 14% Hispanic, 1% Black, 5% Two or more.
Who oversees JOANN WALTERS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL?
JOANN WALTERS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is overseen by DIERKS SCHOOL DISTRICT in Howard County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.