Bates Elementary School

Located at 3180 McDowell Rd. Ext., in Jackson, Mississippi, Bates Elementary School is a medium-sized elementary-level community that educates 482 students (grades K through 5), operated by Jackson Public Schools.

Within Jackson Public Schools, which oversees 35 schools and 16,870 students, Bates Elementary School is one campus in the system.

Demographically, Bates Elementary School logs that 84% of students identify as Black, making the school strongly Black-majority. The remainder looks like 13% Hispanic. That is visibly more Black than the county at large, where the share is closer to 72%.

Looking at the economic backdrop, On paper, Bates Elementary School has 26 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 18.3:1. That figure is higher than the state norm's 15.9:1 average. Around 99% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. Set against Hinds County (around 88%), the school's rate is north of typical.

Around the school, community-level numbers for Hinds County indicate the typical household earns roughly $49,402 per year, roughly 31% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and the poverty rate sits near 17%. In all, Hinds County runs 84 public schools (combined enrollment of about 32,870 students), of which Bates Elementary School is one.

The closest other public school is Cardozo Middle School, roughly 0.0 miles away. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Bates Elementary School.

Geographically, the school is in a metropolitan area.

Over the past 7-year window. Over the past 7-year window, the student count expanded 53%: 315 students in 2018 compared to 482 in 2025. Black enrollment moved from 95% to 84% across the same window. Class-load math has widened: from 16.9:1 in 2018 to 18.3:1 in 2025.

On this page, members of the Bates Elementary School community share and discuss classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. Members of the school community can share what they know.