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Honest take: what's the hardest part about being a student at FOREST ELEMENTARY SCHOOL?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
740
Elementary
DISTRICT 546 · STATE 446
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·FOREST MUNICIPAL SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 280147000212
Forest Elementary
513 CLEVELAND STREET, FOREST, MS 39074 · (601) 469-3073 · Scott County
GRADES PK–04ELEMENTARY43-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL740 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
18.4:1
40 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.2:1 · STATE 15.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
84%
625 students
DISTRICT 85% · STATE 80%
Community
1
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 | 6 | 1% |
| Kindergarten | 157 | 21% |
| Grade 1 | 151 | 20% |
| Grade 2 | 143 | 19% |
| Grade 3 | 126 | 17% |
| Grade 4 | 157 | 21% |
This year's kindergarten class (157) is about the same size as its 4th grade class (157).
Student demographics
58%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 58% · STATE 62% · 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
Based on grade levels within Forest Municipal School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
MAAP 2024-25 . % Proficient + AdvancedEnglish Language Arts
30.0%
MS avg 45.9% . +1.5pp since 2023
Math
52.9%
MS avg 52.8% . +11.8pp since 2023
What this means: On the MAAP, Mississippi's statewide test, about 30 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 53 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Mississippi schools, those numbers are about 46 and 53. Reading and writing scores are up about 2 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 12 points.
MAAP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 30.0% | 52.9% |
| 2023-24 | 28.5% | 41.1% |
% Proficient + Advanced, all students and all tested grades.
Source: MAAP. 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
38.1%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
51.9%
based on MS schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-13.8pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 38% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 52% typical for Mississippi 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 Mississippi'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 Forest Elementary
Forest Elementary's state test result (38.1% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forest Elementary this school | 740 | 84.5% | 38.1% |
| Morton Elementary School MORTON | 686 | 99.6% | 35.2% |
| Canton Elementary School Canton | 411 | 100.0% | 49.6% |
| Woolmarket Elementary Biloxi | 533 | 73.0% | 71.5% |
| Leake Central Elementary School CARTHAGE | 850 | 100.0% | 41.6% |
| Byhalia Elementary School BYHALIA | 515 | 99.4% | 29.3% |
Matched among Mississippi 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 Forest Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Mississippi |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 38.1% | #355 of 428 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 52.9% | #198 of 439 ▲ 98 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 30.0% | #375 of 439 ▲ 26 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 740 | #52 of 453 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 18.4:1 | #384 of 408 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 57.9% | #103 of 409 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 84.5% | #234 of 444 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -5.1% | #241 of 296 |
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
740
+42 (+6%) vs 2020
-9% since 1990-91, when it was 810
Student : Teacher
18.4:1
was 16.6:1
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 | 740 | 40.3 | 18.4:1 | 84% (625) |
| 2023-24 | 726 | 52.2 | 13.9:1 | 100% (726) |
| 2022-23 | 707 | 52.8 | 13.4:1 | 100% (707) |
| 2020-21 | 698 | 42 | 16.6:1 | 100% (695) |
| 2017-18 | 780 | 41.8 | 18.7:1 | 100% (777) |
| 2015-16 | 832 | 38 | 21.9:1 | 100% (829) |
| 2010-11 | 675 | 38 | 17.8:1 | 89% (604) |
| 2000-01 | 767 | 43 | 17.8:1 | 76% (580) |
| 1990-91 | 810 | 38 | 21.3:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Forest Elementary.
About Forest Elementary
Forest Elementary is a large elementary school found in FOREST, Mississippi. Grades offered run from pre-K through 4, with 740 students enrolled. The average among elementary schools in Mississippi is roughly 446 students; this school is 66% above that.
A total of 3 schools make up Forest Municipal School District, with 1,638 students enrolled.
Hispanic students are the majority at Forest Elementary, with 51% of enrollment. The school is also 39% Black, 6% White, and 3% multiracial. The Hispanic share of the county population is lower, at 16%. The school's diversity index is 58%, meaning two students picked at random have a 58% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
At Forest Elementary, 40.3 full-time-equivalent teachers work with students, a ratio of about 18.4:1. That is higher than the 15.9:1 average for elementary schools in Mississippi. Roughly 84% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch. The gap from the 95% average for public schools in Scott County is 11 points.
Forest Elementary scores 38.1% on state tests, averaged across results. The predicted figure, based on its student poverty level, is 51.9%.
In Scott County (population about 27,718), the median household income is $48,786, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 14% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 17%. There are 12 public schools in Scott County, enrolling about 5,627 students in all.
The next-closest public school is Forest High School, about 0.1 miles away. The count of other public schools within five miles is 2. In a group of 9 nearby schools with scores, Forest Elementary ranks 6th on average proficiency.
The school's setting, by NCES definition, is Rural: Remote: in rural territory far from an urban area.
Enrollment grew 6% from its 2020-21 level of 698. Its ratio of students to teachers was 16.6:1 in 2020-21, and 18.4:1 in 2024-25.
The Forest Elementary community page is open for posts about sports schedules, lunch menus, and spirit week. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Scott County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
27,718
Census ACS
Median income
$48,786
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
14%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
17%
Below federal line
Schools in county
12
5,627 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Forest Municipal School District
- Hawkins Middle SchoolMiddle · 460 students
- Forest High SchoolHigh · 438 students
Other schools in FOREST
- Scott Central Attendance CenterCombined · 856 students
- Hawkins Middle SchoolMiddle · 460 students
- Forest High SchoolHigh · 438 students
- FOREST SCOTT CO VOC TECH CENTERHigh
Other Forest Elementary schools
7 other US public schools in 7 states are named Forest Elementary. Forest Elementary is the largest of the 8.
- Forest Elementary SchoolDes Plaines, IL · 658 students
- FOREST ELEMENTARY SCHOOLWILLIAMSVILLE, NY · 515 students
- FOREST ELEMENTARYCRYSTAL, MN · 464 students
- Forest Elementary SchoolFARMINGTON HILLS, MI · 404 students
- Forest Elementary SchoolRIVERVIEW, MI · 395 students
Nearby schools
- Forest High School0.1 mi · 438
- Hawkins Middle School1.5 mi · 460
- Scott Central Attendance Center5.8 mi · 856
- Lake Middle School7.9 mi · 237
- Lake High School9.4 mi · 231
- Lake Elementary School9.5 mi · 333
Frequently asked questions
About Forest ElementaryHow many students attend Forest Elementary?
Forest Elementary enrolls approximately 740 students in grades PK-04.
Is Forest Elementary an elementary, middle, or high school?
Forest Elementary is an elementary school covering grades PK-04.
How many teachers does Forest Elementary have?
Forest Elementary employs 40 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 18.4:1.
What is the student diversity at Forest Elementary?
Student demographics at Forest Elementary are roughly 6% White, 51% Hispanic, 39% Black, 0% Asian, 3% Two or more.
What district is Forest Elementary in?
Forest Elementary is part of Forest Municipal School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.