Enrollment
304
Elementary
DISTRICT 262 · STATE 446
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CLEVELAND SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 280075001212
Hayes Cooper Center
500 Martin L. King, MERIGOLD, MS 38759 · (662) 748-2734 · Bolivar County
GRADES PK–06ELEMENTARY42-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL304 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
14.7:1
21 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.0:1 · STATE 15.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
100%
304 students
DISTRICT 100% · STATE 80%
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
Student demographics
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. 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 Cleveland School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
MAAP 2024-25 . % Proficient + AdvancedEnglish Language Arts
63.6%
MS avg 45.9% . +6.0pp since 2023
Math
63.6%
MS avg 52.8% . +5.3pp since 2023
What this means: On the MAAP, Mississippi's statewide test, about 64 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 64 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 6 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 5 points.
Source: MAAP. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
OUTPERFORMING
Top 10% of MS schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
66.2%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
44.1%
based on MS schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+22.1pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 66% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 44% typical for Mississippi schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations ranks schools against others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school can post high scores and still fall short of its prediction, or post lower scores and still beat it. This school clears its prediction by about 22 points, placing it in Mississippi's top 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
7-year change
SY 2017-18 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
304
-18 (-6%) vs 2017
Student : Teacher
14.7:1
was 14.9:1
% White
46%
was 44%
% Hispanic
7%
was 5%
% Black
43%
was 45%
% Asian
1%
was 5%
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
About Hayes Cooper Center
As a close-knit elementary-level community in MERIGOLD, Mississippi, Hayes Cooper Center instructs 304 students from grades pre-K through 6, overseen by Cleveland School District. Enrollment runs roughly 32% smaller than the state mean of about 446.
Within Cleveland School District, which oversees 8 schools and 2,793 students, Hayes Cooper Center is one campus in the system.
Looking at the student body, Hayes Cooper Center shows that the largest single group is White at 46%, but no single group is in the majority. Beyond that, the school logs 43% Black, 7% Hispanic, 3% multiracial. By comparison, Bolivar County as a whole is about 31% White, so the school skews considerably more White than its surroundings.
On the resource side, The school employs 21 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 14.7:1. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 15.9:1 average. Around 100% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator.
After controlling for student poverty, Hayes Cooper Center is in the OUTPERFORMING tier of the BeatsExpectations model, which fits a per-state line through proficiency and FRL share. Schools with this campus's poverty mix typically land near 44.1%; this one delivers 66.2%, a residual of +22.1 points.
In the surrounding community, census data for Bolivar County shows median household income runs about $39,585, 28% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 27%. Hayes Cooper Center is one of 19 public schools in Bolivar County (combined enrollment of about 4,415 students).
Nearest neighbor: I. T. Montgomery Elementary School, around 2.2 miles off. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a ten-mile radius, suggesting a relatively low-density school footprint.
Geographically, the school is in a low-density area.
Trend over the last 7 years. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Hayes Cooper Center has declined 6%, going from 322 students in 2018 to 304 in 2025. Over the same period, the Asian share ticked down from 5% to 1%.
On the community side, members of the Hayes Cooper Center community share and discuss open house dates, ride-share offers, and field-trip permission slips. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Bolivar County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
29,534
Census ACS
Median income
$39,585
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
28%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
27%
Below federal line
Schools in county
19
4,415 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Cleveland School District
- Cleveland Central High SchoolHigh · 799 students
- Cleveland Central Middle SchoolMiddle · 423 students
- Bell AcademyElementary · 327 students
- Parks Elementary SchoolElementary · 265 students
- Nailor Elementary SchoolElementary · 256 students
- D.M. Smith ElementaryElementary · 233 students
Nearby schools
- I. T. Montgomery Elementary School2.2 mi · 185
- Pearman Elementary School6.5 mi · 186
- Cleveland Central High School6.8 mi · 799
- Northside High School7.2 mi · 370
- Cleveland Central Middle School7.5 mi · 423
- D.M. Smith Elementary7.5 mi · 233
Frequently asked questions
About Hayes Cooper CenterHow large is Hayes Cooper Center?
Hayes Cooper Center enrolls approximately 304 students in grades PK-06.
What grades does Hayes Cooper Center serve?
Hayes Cooper Center serves grades PK-06.
How many students per teacher at Hayes Cooper Center?
Approximately 14.7:1 students per teacher at Hayes Cooper Center.
How diverse is Hayes Cooper Center?
Hayes Cooper Center reports a student body of 46% White, 7% Hispanic, 43% Black, 1% Asian, 3% Two or more.
Who oversees Hayes Cooper Center?
Hayes Cooper Center is overseen by Cleveland School District in Bolivar County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.