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How has POPE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL changed in the last five years, for better or worse?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
549
Elementary
DISTRICT 588 · STATE 446
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·SOUTH PANOLA SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 280405000765
Pope School
1110 Main Street, Pope, MS 38658 · (662) 563-3732 · Panola County
GRADES PK–08ELEMENTARY42-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL549 STUDENTS
B-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 50% of Mississippi public elementary schools
- BTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- B-Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Mississippi public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
16.3:1
34 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.2:1 · STATE 15.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
74%
404 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 | 20 | 4% |
| Kindergarten | 66 | 12% |
| Grade 1 | 70 | 13% |
| Grade 2 | 62 | 11% |
| Grade 3 | 51 | 9% |
| Grade 4 | 56 | 10% |
| Grade 5 | 67 | 12% |
| Grade 6 | 45 | 8% |
| Grade 7 | 54 | 10% |
| Grade 8 | 58 | 11% |
This year's kindergarten class (66) is 14% larger than its 8th grade class (58).
Student demographics
31%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 56% · 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
Pope School→South Panola High School
Based on grade levels within South Panola School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
MAAP 2024-25 . % Proficient + AdvancedEnglish Language Arts
55.3%
MS avg 45.9% . -2.4pp since 2023
Math
47.5%
MS avg 52.8% . -5.2pp since 2023
What this means: On the MAAP, Mississippi's statewide test, about 55 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 48 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 2 points since 2023, while math scores are down about 5 points.
MAAP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 55.3% | 47.5% |
| 2023-24 | 57.7% | 52.7% |
% 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
57.4%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
57.4%
based on MS schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+0.0pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 57% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 57% 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 Pope School
Pope School's state test result (57.4% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pope School this school | 549 | 73.6% | 57.4% |
| Walnut Attendance Center WALNUT | 480 | 73.1% | 61.5% |
| Myrtle Attendance Center MYRTLE | 698 | 73.2% | 76.8% |
| Raleigh Elementary School RALEIGH | 649 | 69.0% | 60.1% |
| Anderson Elementary School Booneville | 551 | 71.9% | 69.5% |
| Burnsville Elementary School Burnsville | 410 | 74.4% | 42.8% |
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 Pope School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Mississippi | In Panola County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 57.4% | #191 of 428 | #2 of 6 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 47.5% | #236 of 439 ▼ 22 | #4 of 6 ▼ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 55.3% | #154 of 439 ▲ 20 | #1 of 6 ▲ 1 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 549 | #120 of 453 | #3 of 6 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.3:1 | #302 of 408 | #3 of 6 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 31.4% | #274 of 409 | #5 of 6 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 73.6% | #296 of 444 | #6 of 6 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -2.0% | #283 of 296 | 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. 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
549
+10 (+2%) vs 2020
+10% since 1990-91, when it was 499
Student : Teacher
16.3:1
was 15.4:1
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 | 549 | 33.6 | 16.3:1 | 74% (404) |
| 2023-24 | 531 | 42.7 | 12.4:1 | 69% (366) |
| 2022-23 | 531 | 40.7 | 13.0:1 | 99% (528) |
| 2020-21 | 539 | 35 | 15.4:1 | 99% (536) |
| 2017-18 | 560 | 36 | 15.6:1 | 68% (379) |
| 2015-16 | 536 | 37 | 14.5:1 | 59% (318) |
| 2010-11 | 575 | 36 | 16.0:1 | 64% (368) |
| 2000-01 | 495 | 28 | 17.7:1 | 71% (350) |
| 1990-91 | 499 | 27 | 18.5:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Pope School.
About Pope School
Pope School is a mid-sized elementary school in Pope, Mississippi, one of the schools in South Panola School District. It reported 549 students in pre-K through 8 in 2024-25. Elementary schools in Mississippi average about 446 students, which makes this school 23% larger than average.
South Panola School District is responsible for 6 schools, Pope School included, with 4,220 students in all.
Of every 100 students at Pope School, about 81 are White. Smaller groups are 15% Black and 3% multiracial. For comparison, the population of Panola County is roughly 47% White. On a 0 to 100 scale, the school's diversity index is 31, compared with 70 nationally.
For every teacher at Pope School, there are about 16.3 students; the school has 33.6 full-time-equivalent teachers. The ratio is within a point of the 15.9:1 average for elementary schools in Mississippi. There are 404 students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, 74% of enrollment. For comparison, public schools in Panola County average 88%.
Pope School earns a B- on the allk12 Grade, which blends test scores, results against poverty-based expectations, and the three-year trend. It scored higher than 50% of Mississippi public elementary schools.
Pope School scores 57.4% on state tests, averaged across results. The predicted figure, based on its student poverty level, is 57.4%.
In Panola County, the median household earns about $45,945 a year, about 18% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 18% of residents are in poverty. Panola County has 13 public schools with about 5,323 students, including Pope School.
Batesville Elementary School, about 7.2 miles away, is the closest public school. Counting only straight-line distance, 5 other public schools are within ten miles. Among the 9 closest schools with test data, this one included, Pope School ranks 3rd on average proficiency.
NCES assigns Pope School the locale Rural: Distant, meaning in rural territory some distance from an urban area.
The school's size has been steady, with 539 students in 2020-21 and 549 in 2024-25.
Anyone can start a thread about fundraisers, report cards, and school supplies at Pope School. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to post.
Panola County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
32,808
Census ACS
Median income
$45,945
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
18%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
18%
Below federal line
Schools in county
13
5,323 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in South Panola School District
- South Panola High SchoolHigh · 1,113 students
- Batesville Junior High SchoolMiddle · 756 students
- Batesville Elementary SchoolElementary · 741 students
- Batesville Intermediate SchoolElementary · 587 students
- Batesville Middle SchoolElementary · 474 students
- SOUTH PANOLA ALTERNATIVE SCHOOLElementary
Other Pope schools
One other US public school is named Pope. Pope School is the 2nd largest of the 2.
- Pope SchoolJackson, TN · 628 students
Nearby schools
- Batesville Elementary School7.2 mi · 741
- South Panola High School7.2 mi · 1,113
- Batesville Middle School7.2 mi · 474
- Batesville Intermediate School7.3 mi · 587
- Batesville Junior High School7.3 mi · 756
- Charleston Middle School15.1 mi · 208
Frequently asked questions
About Pope SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Pope School?
Pope School enrolls approximately 549 students in grades PK-08.
What grades does Pope School serve?
Pope School serves grades PK-08.
How many teachers does Pope School have?
Pope School employs 34 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 16.3:1.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Pope School?
At Pope School, the student body is approximately 81% White, 1% Hispanic, 15% Black, 3% Two or more.
Who oversees Pope School?
Pope School is overseen by South Panola School District in Panola County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.