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What advice would you give to incoming students at POPLAR SPRINGS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
405
Elementary
DISTRICT 368 · STATE 446
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·MERIDIAN PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 280291000572
Poplar Springs Elementary
4101 27th Ave, Meridian, MS 39305 · (601) 484-4450 · Lauderdale County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY33-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL405 STUDENTS
C+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 40% of Mississippi public elementary schools
- CTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- BBeats 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
14.6:1
28 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.8:1 · STATE 15.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
100%
405 students
DISTRICT 100% · 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 65 | 16% |
| Grade 1 | 73 | 18% |
| Grade 2 | 79 | 20% |
| Grade 3 | 63 | 16% |
| Grade 4 | 59 | 15% |
| Grade 5 | 66 | 16% |
This year's kindergarten class (65) is about the same size as its 5th grade class (66).
Student demographics
29%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 17% · 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
Test scores
MAAP 2024-25 . % Proficient + AdvancedEnglish Language Arts
44.6%
MS avg 45.9% . -4.3pp since 2023
Math
32.6%
MS avg 52.8% . -6.2pp since 2023
What this means: On the MAAP, Mississippi's statewide test, about 45 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 33 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 4 points since 2023, while math scores are down about 6 points.
MAAP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 44.6% | 32.6% |
| 2023-24 | 48.9% | 38.8% |
% 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
47.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
44.1%
based on MS schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+3.2pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 47% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 44% 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 Poplar Springs Elementary
Poplar Springs Elementary's state test result (47.3% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Poplar Springs Elementary this school | 405 | 100.0% | 47.3% |
| Wayne Central School Waynesboro | 459 | 99.3% | 36.0% |
| West Hills Elementary Meridian | 423 | 100.0% | 44.1% |
| Amite County Elementary Liberty | 486 | 100.0% | 59.6% |
| Crestwood Elementary Meridian | 368 | 99.2% | 35.2% |
| Robinsonville Elementary School Robinsonville | 380 | 99.7% | 54.0% |
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 Poplar Springs Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Mississippi | In Lauderdale County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 47.3% | #290 of 428 | #4 of 10 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 32.6% | #353 of 439 ▼ 38 | #5 of 10 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 44.6% | #251 of 439 ▲ 3 | #6 of 10 ▼ 1 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 405 | #218 of 453 | #7 of 10 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 14.6:1 | #172 of 408 | #4 of 9 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 29.0% | #288 of 409 | #5 of 9 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 100% | #86 of 444 | #2 of 10 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -14.4% | #145 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
405
-42 (-9%) vs 2020
-43% since 1990-91, when it was 712
Student : Teacher
14.6:1
was 14.4:1
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 | 405 | 27.8 | 14.6:1 | 100% (405) |
| 2023-24 | 382 | 28.9 | 13.2:1 | 100% (382) |
| 2022-23 | 412 | 28.7 | 14.3:1 | 100% (412) |
| 2020-21 | 447 | 31 | 14.4:1 | 100% (447) |
| 2017-18 | 473 | 30.8 | 15.4:1 | 100% (473) |
| 2015-16 | 501 | 31 | 16.2:1 | 100% (501) |
| 2010-11 | 537 | 35 | 15.3:1 | 45% (240) |
| 2000-01 | 504 | 35 | 14.4:1 | 75% (377) |
| 1990-91 | 712 | 34 | 20.9:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Poplar Springs Elementary.
About Poplar Springs Elementary
Poplar Springs Elementary is a medium-sized elementary school in Meridian, Mississippi. Classes run from kindergarten through 5, and the school has 405 students.
Poplar Springs Elementary is one of the 9 schools that make up Meridian Public Schools (4,385 students in total).
The large majority of students at Poplar Springs Elementary, 84%, are Black. Other groups make up 8% White, 4% multiracial, and 3% Hispanic. County-wide, 41% of Lauderdale County residents are Black. Poplar Springs Elementary has a diversity index of 29%, compared with 70% for all US public school students.
The school has about 14.6 students per teacher and 27.8 full-time-equivalent teachers. The average ratio among elementary schools in Mississippi is 15.9:1, higher than at this school. About 100% of enrolled students meet the income rules for free or reduced-price lunch. The 75% average for public schools in Lauderdale County is 25 points lower.
Measured against Mississippi public elementary schools, Poplar Springs Elementary receives a C+. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.
Test results at Poplar Springs Elementary are 3.2 points above what its free or reduced-price lunch share predicts (47.3% actual, 44.1% predicted).
Among Lauderdale County residents, median household income is about $50,817, roughly 24% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and about 19% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Federal data list 24 public schools in Lauderdale County, with a combined enrollment of about 10,325.
The next-closest public school is Meridian High School, about 0.8 miles away. In all, at least 8 other public schools sit within five miles of Poplar Springs Elementary. Among its closest neighbors with test data, Poplar Springs Elementary is 1st of 9 on proficiency.
For locale, NCES codes Poplar Springs Elementary as Town: Remote.
From 2020-21 to 2024-25, Poplar Springs Elementary went from 447 students to 405.
Discussion on this page can cover sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.
Lauderdale County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
71,504
Census ACS
Median income
$50,817
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
24%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
19%
Below federal line
Schools in county
24
10,325 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Meridian Public Schools
- Meridian High SchoolHigh · 1,253 students
- Carver Elementary SchoolElementary · 506 students
- Northwest Middle SchoolMiddle · 484 students
- Magnolia Middle SchoolMiddle · 440 students
- West Hills ElementaryElementary · 423 students
- Crestwood ElementaryElementary · 368 students
Other schools in Meridian
- Meridian High SchoolHigh · 1,253 students
- West Lauderdale Elementary SchoolElementary · 761 students
- Northeast Elementary SchoolElementary · 730 students
- Northeast High SchoolHigh · 608 students
- Southeast Elementary SchoolElementary · 562 students
- Clarkdale Elementary SchoolElementary · 527 students
Other Poplar Springs Elementary schools
One other US public school is named Poplar Springs Elementary. Poplar Springs Elementary is the 2nd largest of the 2.
- Poplar Springs Elementary SchoolKing, NC · 495 students
Nearby schools
- Meridian High School0.8 mi · 1,253
- West Hills Elementary1.1 mi · 423
- Northwest Middle School1.2 mi · 484
- Parkview Elementary1.4 mi · 364
- Magnolia Middle School1.5 mi · 440
- Meridian PreK Academy2.2 mi · 142
Frequently asked questions
About Poplar Springs ElementaryHow large is Poplar Springs Elementary?
Poplar Springs Elementary enrolls approximately 405 students in grades KG-05.
Is Poplar Springs Elementary an elementary, middle, or high school?
Poplar Springs Elementary is an elementary school covering grades KG-05.
How many teachers does Poplar Springs Elementary have?
Poplar Springs Elementary employs 28 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 14.6:1.
How diverse is Poplar Springs Elementary?
Poplar Springs Elementary reports a student body of 8% White, 3% Hispanic, 84% Black, 0% Asian, 4% Two or more.
What district is Poplar Springs Elementary in?
Poplar Springs Elementary is part of Meridian Public Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.