Best Public Schools in Lake City, AR

The city of Lake City, Arkansas is home to two schools - Riverside High School and Riverside West Elementary School, both part of the Riverside School District. While Riverside West Elementary is a relative success story, outperforming district and state averages, Riverside High School has experienced a significant decline in its statewide ranking.

Riverside West Elementary School ranks 142 out of 495 Arkansas elementary schools and has a 4-star rating from SchoolDigger. The school outperforms the district and state in English Language Arts, Reading, Mathematics, and Science proficiency. However, it has a high free and reduced lunch rate of 64.09%, indicating a high-need student population. In contrast, Riverside High School has seen a dramatic drop in its statewide ranking, from 38th in 2022-2023 to 180th in 2024-2025, and consistently underperforms the district and state averages in all subject areas.

The data highlights the stark contrast in performance between the two schools. While Riverside West Elementary School is a success story, Riverside High School is struggling, with proficiency rates well below the district and state averages. The difference in spending per student and student-teacher ratios may be contributing factors to the performance gap, but further investigation is needed to identify the root causes and implement targeted interventions to improve student outcomes at the high school level.