South Side Upper Elementary

South Side Upper Elementary is a low-enrollment elementary school in Picayune, Mississippi, one of the schools within Picayune School District. The school teaches 310 students in grades 3 through 6. Enrollment runs roughly 30% leaner than the state mean of about 446.

Picayune School District comprises 8 schools with combined enrollment of 3,359 students; South Side Upper Elementary is among them.

On the student-mix side, South Side Upper Elementary shows that White students make up the majority at 60%. Other groups include 31% Black, 5% Hispanic, 3% multiracial. That is noticeably less White than the county at large, where the share is closer to 80%.

In terms of school funding signals, South Side Upper Elementary reports 21 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 14.5:1. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 15.9:1 average. About 79% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. That share is north of Pearl River County's rate of about 65%.

In the area at large, ACS estimates for Pearl River County put median household earnings sit near $58,135, about 17% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 14%. Across Pearl River County's 20 public schools (combined enrollment of about 8,456 students), South Side Upper Elementary is one campus in the mix.

The closest other public school is South Side Lower Elementary, roughly 0.1 miles away. Within five miles, there are 7 other public schools.

The campus sits in a town-center setting.

Five-year trend. South Side Upper Elementary's enrollment has ticked down 4% since 2018, when it stood at 322 (now 310). The Black share of enrollment fell from 39% to 31% over that span. The student-to-teacher ratio pulled in from 19.4:1 in 2018 to 14.5:1 today.

On allk12, posts here usually surface around sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.