Drew Central High School

Drew Central High School in Monticello, AR, is a small high school serving 340 students in grades 9-12 within the Drew Central School District, where nearly all students (99.41%) qualify for free or reduced lunch. This school stands out as a local leader in STEM subjects, significantly outperforming nearby schools like Monticello High School and Warren High School in Algebra, Geometry, and Biology—often by margins of 2 to 8 times higher. For example, Drew Central’s Algebra proficiency rate of 43.8% is over 8 times higher than Monticello’s 5.2%, and its Biology rate of 46.1% is more than double Monticello’s 20.2% and nearly quadruple Warren’s 11.8%.

The school has undergone a remarkable turnaround in recent years, with its graduation rate climbing from a low of 82.3% in 2020-2021 to 92.3% in 2024-2025, now exceeding the state average of 90.1%. Simultaneously, the dropout rate has plummeted by 73% over four years, dropping from 6.2% to just 1.7%. This improvement is especially impressive given the high-need student population, and it contrasts sharply with Monticello High School, which serves a more affluent student body (52.17% free/reduced lunch) but ranks lower in state percentile and has significantly worse test scores across all subjects.

Drew Central achieves these results with efficient spending of $13,366 per student and a favorable student-teacher ratio of 11.4:1. While the school excels in math and science, it continues to face challenges in English Language Arts and Reading, where proficiency rates lag 10-13 percentage points below the state average. This imbalance suggests a potential area for future focus, but the overall trajectory is positive—the school has jumped from a 1-star rating in 2023-2024 to a 2-star rating in 2025-2026, ranking in the 47th percentile statewide. For parents, Drew Central offers a compelling option where strong STEM instruction and improving graduation rates defy expectations based on demographics alone.