1
What clubs or activities at PETAL PRIMARY SCHOOL are worth joining?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,016
Elementary
DISTRICT 826 · STATE 446
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·PETAL SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 280353001067
Petal Primary School
60 Herrington Road, Petal, MS 39465 · (601) 554-7244 · Forrest County
GRADES PK–02ELEMENTARY41-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL1,016 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
13.6:1
75 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.5:1 · STATE 15.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
64%
647 students
DISTRICT 60% · 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 | 81 | 8% |
| Kindergarten | 313 | 31% |
| Grade 1 | 320 | 31% |
| Grade 2 | 302 | 30% |
Student demographics
51%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 49% · 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
Petal Primary School→Petal Elementary 3-4→Petal Upper Elementary→Petal Middle School→Petal High School
Based on grade levels within Petal School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
MAAP 2024-25 . % Proficient + AdvancedEnglish Language Arts
61.4%
MS avg 45.9% . -14.0pp since 2023
Math
76.0%
MS avg 52.8% . +5.6pp since 2023
What this means: On the MAAP, Mississippi's statewide test, about 61 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 76 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Mississippi schools, those numbers are about 46 and 53. Reading and writing scores are down about 14 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 6 points.
MAAP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 61.4% | 76.0% |
| 2023-24 | 75.4% | 70.4% |
% 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
70.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
62.4%
based on MS schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+8.4pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 71% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 62% 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 →
Where Petal Primary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Mississippi | In Forrest County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 70.8% | #76 of 428 | #3 of 12 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 76.0% | #46 of 439 | #2 of 12 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 61.4% | #106 of 439 | #6 of 12 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,016 | #15 of 453 | #1 of 12 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.6:1 | #102 of 408 | #7 of 12 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 50.8% | #165 of 409 | #6 of 12 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 63.7% | #364 of 444 | #11 of 12 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +4.4% | #64 of 90 | N/A |
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.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
1,016
+18 (+2%) vs 2020
+30% since 1990-91, when it was 779
Student : Teacher
13.6:1
was 15.8:1
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 | 1,016 | 74.6 | 13.6:1 | 64% (647) |
| 2023-24 | 1,089 | 90.2 | 12.1:1 | 65% (710) |
| 2022-23 | 1,096 | 85.3 | 12.9:1 | 100% (1,093) |
| 2020-21 | 998 | 63 | 15.8:1 | 100% (995) |
| 2017-18 | 973 | 57 | 17.1:1 | 63% (615) |
| 2015-16 | 1,045 | 59 | 17.7:1 | 64% (666) |
| 2010-11 | 944 | 51 | 18.5:1 | 59% (553) |
| 2000-01 | 877 | 50 | 17.5:1 | 42% (365) |
| 1990-91 | 779 | 44 | 17.7:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Petal Primary School.
About Petal Primary School
Petal Primary School is an elementary school in Petal, Mississippi, reachable at (601) 554-7244. The school teaches pre-K through 2 and enrolls 1,016 students. The school is 128% bigger than the average for elementary schools in Mississippi.
Petal School District runs 5 schools with a combined 4,253 students. Petal Primary School is one of them.
The student body at Petal Primary School is 67% White. After that, the student body is 19% Black, 9% Hispanic, and 5% multiracial. Among all residents of Forrest County, the White share is about 57%. Its diversity index, the chance that two randomly chosen students belong to different racial or ethnic groups, is 51%.
The student-to-teacher ratio is 13.6:1. The school has 74.6 full-time-equivalent teachers. Across elementary schools in Mississippi, the average ratio is 15.9:1. Federal data show 64% of students (647) are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. Compared with the 79% average for public schools in Forrest County, the school's rate is lower.
Test results at Petal Primary School are 8.4 points above what its free or reduced-price lunch share predicts (70.8% actual, 62.4% predicted).
In Forrest County, the median household earns about $53,640 a year, about 31% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 16% of residents are in poverty. Forrest County has 21 public schools with about 10,857 students, including Petal Primary School.
Of the public schools around it, Petal Primary School is closest to Petal High School, about 0.5 miles away. Inside a five-mile radius, there are 4 other public schools. Ranked by average proficiency, Petal Primary School places 5th out of 9 schools in its immediate area.
Petal Primary School is in rural territory close to an urban area, a location NCES labels Rural: Fringe.
Compared with 2020-21, when it had 998 students, enrollment in 2024-25 was about the same at 1,016. Over the same period, the student-to-teacher ratio dropped to 13.6:1, from 15.8:1.
This page is a place to ask questions and share updates about fundraisers, report cards, and school supplies at Petal Primary School. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to post.
Forrest County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
78,272
Census ACS
Median income
$53,640
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
31%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
16%
Below federal line
Schools in county
21
10,857 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Petal School District
- Petal High SchoolHigh · 1,324 students
- Petal Middle SchoolMiddle · 645 students
- Petal Elementary 3-4Elementary · 636 students
- Petal Upper ElementaryMiddle · 632 students
Other schools in Petal
- Petal High SchoolHigh · 1,324 students
- Petal Middle SchoolMiddle · 645 students
- Petal Elementary 3-4Elementary · 636 students
- Petal Upper ElementaryMiddle · 632 students
- Runnelstown SchoolElementary · 173 students
Nearby schools
- Petal High School0.5 mi · 1,324
- Petal Elementary 3-40.6 mi · 636
- Petal Middle School2.9 mi · 645
- Petal Upper Elementary3.0 mi · 632
- Hawkins Elementary5.4 mi · 283
- Runnelstown School6.0 mi · 173
Frequently asked questions
About Petal Primary SchoolHow large is Petal Primary School?
Petal Primary School enrolls approximately 1,016 students in grades PK-02.
What age range does Petal Primary School serve?
Petal Primary School serves students from grade PK through grade 02.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Petal Primary School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Petal Primary School is approximately 13.6:1 (75 FTE teachers).
How diverse is Petal Primary School?
Petal Primary School reports a student body of 67% White, 9% Hispanic, 19% Black, 0% Asian, 5% Two or more.
Is Petal Primary School public or private?
Petal Primary School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Petal School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.