Summary:
The Manila School District in Manila, Arkansas, serves 1,077 students across two public schools: Manila Elementary School (grades PK-6) and Manila High School (grades 7-12). The district is highly rated, ranking 60th out of 251 districts in Arkansas with a 4-star rating, but the two schools show very different academic strengths.
Manila Elementary School is the district's broad-based academic standout, consistently exceeding state averages in English Language Arts, Reading, and Science. Its state ranking has improved dramatically over the past three years, moving from the 51st percentile to the 60th percentile. In contrast, Manila High School is a specialized powerhouse in Mathematics, with an "All Grades" proficiency rate of 59.2%—15.1 percentage points above the state average. However, the high school struggles in English Language Arts, where its proficiency lags behind both the elementary school and the state average. This creates a "tale of two schools" dynamic: the elementary excels broadly, while the high school shines in math but falters in other core subjects.
Key metrics reveal interesting contrasts. The elementary school has a higher student-teacher ratio (17:1) and lower per-student spending ($11,488) than the high school (11.1:1 and $11,993), yet the elementary outperforms the high school overall. Both schools serve similar socioeconomic demographics, with about half of students eligible for free/reduced lunch. The high school's graduation rate is 88.8%, slightly below the state average, but its dropout rate is low at 1.4%. A notable strength across both schools is Science, where both comfortably exceed state averages, indicating a strong district-wide science curriculum. The math pipeline appears effective, with students accelerating around 6th grade, leading to exceptional performance in advanced Algebra and Geometry courses at the high school level.
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