Harrison Central Elementary

Harrison Central Elementary is a middle-of-the-pack elementary campus in Gulfport, Mississippi, run under Harrison County School District. The school caters to 465 students in grades K through 3.

Across the 22 schools in Harrison County School District (14,253 students total), Harrison Central Elementary accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

In terms of who attends, Harrison Central Elementary logs that the largest single group is Black at 40%, but no single group is in the majority. Other groups include 39% White, 10% Hispanic, 8% multiracial. By comparison, Harrison County as a whole is about 24% Black, so the school skews meaningfully more Black than its surroundings.

On the resource side, On paper, Harrison Central Elementary has 27 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 16.9:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 15.9:1, putting Harrison Central Elementary higher than the state norm the norm. Roughly 76% of students at Harrison Central Elementary qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal.

After controlling for student poverty, Harrison Central Elementary ranks in the top 10% of Mississippi public schools. The BeatsExpectations model, a per-state regression of composite proficiency on FRL share, predicts schools with this student profile to land around 56.0%; Harrison Central Elementary posts 72.3%, +16.3 points above that line.

Around the school, ACS estimates for Harrison County put the typical household earns roughly $59,479 per year, 28% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 13%. In all, Harrison County runs 55 public schools (combined enrollment of about 30,521 students), of which Harrison Central Elementary is one.

Orange Grove Elementary is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.3 miles from this campus. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius.

The campus sits in an urban setting.

Looking at the recent track record. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Harrison Central Elementary has fell 25%, going from 621 students in 2018 to 465 in 2025. Black enrollment moved from 52% to 40% across the same window. Class-load math has fell: from 19.2:1 in 2018 to 16.9:1 in 2025.

On the community side, recent activity here tends to focus on school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. The community welcomes input from current and former families.