Friendship Aspire Academy Hazel St Pine Bluff

Friendship Aspire Academy Hazel St Pine Bluff is a K-5 elementary school in Pine Bluff, AR, serving 469 students in a high-poverty area where nearly 80% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The school currently holds a 1-star rating from the state, ranking in the bottom third of Arkansas elementary schools, but it stands out as a middle performer in a highly segmented local market.

This school offers a unique middle ground for families. It significantly outperforms the lowest-performing schools in the Pine Bluff School District and Watson Chapel School District, such as Matthews Elementary School and Coleman Elementary School, where proficiency rates often fall in the teens. However, it is clearly outmatched by the top-performing schools in the White Hall School District, like Moody Elementary School and Gandy Elementary School. A notable strength is Science, where the school's 35.8% proficiency rate is higher than its own district average and far exceeds the low Science scores at nearby struggling schools. Yet, the school has experienced a dramatic ranking decline from the 78th percentile five years ago to its current 27th percentile, a volatility not seen in other local schools.

Several red flags warrant attention. The school's per-student spending has been remarkably high—reaching $30,683 in 2022-2023, more than double that of the high-performing White Hall schools—yet academic results remain low, raising questions about resource efficiency. Additionally, performance is inconsistent within the same grade: 4th graders achieved a 45% math proficiency rate, close to the state average, while 3rd graders scored just 16.3%. Interestingly, the school's counterpart, Friendship Aspire Academy Downtown Pine Bluff, serves a similar student population but ranks in the 83rd percentile, suggesting that school-specific leadership and instruction—not just demographics—drive outcomes here.