Stokes Beard Elementary School

Located at 311 Martin Luther King Dr, in Columbus, Mississippi, Stokes Beard Elementary School is a close-knit elementary school that teaches 369 students (grades pre-K through 5), operated by Columbus Municipal School District.

Columbus Municipal School District comprises 7 schools with combined enrollment of 3,011 students; Stokes Beard Elementary School is among them.

For racial and ethnic makeup, Stokes Beard Elementary School records that nearly all students (96%) are Black. That is considerably more Black than the county at large, where the share is closer to 44%.

Looking at school resources, On paper, Stokes Beard Elementary School has 26 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 14.4:1. 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 commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. That share is noticeably above Lowndes County's rate of about 75%.

In the area at large, ACS estimates for Lowndes County put median household earnings sit near $53,812, roughly 28% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and the poverty rate sits near 15%. Across Lowndes County's 20 public schools (combined enrollment of about 8,512 students), Stokes Beard Elementary School is one campus in the mix.

The closest other public school is MS SCHOOL FOR MATH AND SCIENCE, roughly 1.0 miles away. Counting just inside five miles, 7 other public schools cluster around Stokes Beard Elementary School.

The school occupies a small-town site.

Over the past 7-year window. Over the past 7-year window, the student count fell 16%: 441 students in 2018 compared to 369 in 2025. The student-to-teacher ratio narrowed from 17.3:1 in 2018 to 14.4:1 today.

On the community side, members of the Stokes Beard Elementary School community share and discuss school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. Members of the school community can share what they know.