LAKESIDE SCHOOL DISTRICT (Chicot)

The LAKESIDE SCHOOL DISTRICT (Chicot) in Arkansas serves approximately 842 students across four schools—Lakeside Elementary School, Lakeside High School, Lakeside Middle School, and Eudora Elementary School—all of which have 100% of students eligible for free or reduced lunch, reflecting significant socioeconomic challenges. The district ranks near the bottom of the state (219 out of 251) with a 1-star rating, but individual schools show surprising pockets of academic strength.

Eudora Elementary School stands out as the district's most intriguing school. Despite being the smallest (83 students) and having the highest per-student spending ($23,724), it achieved a 44.4% proficiency rate in Mathematics in 2025-2026, nearly matching the state average of 44.1% and far exceeding the district average of 24.8%. However, its state ranking dropped dramatically from the 77th percentile (4 stars) to the 21st percentile (1 star) in just two years, likely due to small sample sizes affecting rankings. In contrast, Lakeside High School shows a unique strength in Biology, with a 47.4% proficiency rate that surpasses the state average of 42.7%, even as its Algebra proficiency (9.1%) remains critically low. Lakeside Middle School offers an interesting anomaly: while standard math proficiency is low (16.3%), its Algebra proficiency reaches 43.5%, above the state average of 36.9%, indicating that accelerated coursework can yield strong results even in a struggling district.

Overall, the district spends over $18,000 per student on average—higher than the national average—yet academic outcomes are among the lowest in the state, highlighting that funding alone cannot overcome the profound impact of poverty. The graduation rate at Lakeside High School is 86.5%, below the state average of 90.1%, but the dropout rate is very low at 0.7%. Encouragingly, most schools showed year-over-year improvement in English Language Arts and Reading from 2024-2025 to 2025-2026, suggesting recent instructional changes may be taking effect. The key takeaway for parents is that while the district faces systemic challenges, targeted successes in advanced coursework at Lakeside Middle School and Lakeside High School, as well as strong math performance at Eudora Elementary School, demonstrate that academic excellence is possible within the district.