Eudora Elementary School

Eudora Elementary School in Lake Village, AR, is a small, rural school serving 83 students from Pre-Kindergarten through 3rd grade, where every student qualifies for free or reduced lunch, reflecting significant socioeconomic challenges in the community.

This school stands out for its dramatic swings in performance, making it one of the most volatile schools in the region. In recent years, it has rocketed from the bottom 2% of Arkansas elementary schools to the top 77%, only to drop back down. This "boom-or-bust" pattern is largely due to its tiny size—a single class of 20 students can completely reshape the school's profile from year to year. Despite this, Eudora has a clear strength in 3rd-grade Mathematics, where 44.4% of students are proficient, nearly matching the state average and far exceeding nearby Lakeside Elementary School (25.0%) and Dermott Elementary School (29.2%). However, Science is a significant weakness, with only 22.2% of students proficient—the lowest rate among its peers and a stark contrast to its math success.

Eudora invests heavily in its students, spending $23,724 per pupil—74% more than Portland Elementary School—and maintaining a very low student-teacher ratio of 9.9:1. This creates potential for personalized learning, but the inconsistent results raise questions about return on investment. While Eudora can outperform its district, the Lakeside School District (Chicot), which ranks near the bottom of the state, the school's success is fragile and heavily dependent on the specific group of students each year. For parents, this means Eudora offers intensive support and can achieve remarkable math results, but the experience may vary dramatically from year to year.