Best Public Schools in Zip Code 71953

Summary:

The 71953 zip code area in Arkansas is home to 7 schools across two different school districts - Mena School District and Ouachita River School District. The schools include 3 elementary schools, 1 middle school, 2 high schools, and 1 alternative school, serving students from a diverse socioeconomic background.

Among the standout schools in the area, Acorn Elementary School and Mena Middle School demonstrate strong academic performance, with proficiency rates exceeding their respective district and state averages in core subjects like English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science. In contrast, the Polk County Virtual Academy has significantly lower proficiency rates compared to the district and state.

The schools in the 71953 zip code area exhibit a wide range of free and reduced lunch rates, from 26.67% at Polk County Virtual Academy to 76.97% at Acorn Elementary School, indicating a diverse socioeconomic makeup within the community. Additionally, the spending per student varies, with Holly Harshman Elementary spending $8,729 per student and Mena High School spending $11,226 per student. These factors may contribute to the observed differences in academic performance across the schools in the area.

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School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				ATLAS English Language Arts (2025)									ATLAS Reading (2025)									ATLAS Mathematics (2025)							ATLAS Algebra (2025)			ATLAS Geometry (2025)		ATLAS Science (2025)							ATLAS Biology (2025)			Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	ATLAS English Language Arts 3rd Grade	ATLAS English Language Arts 4th Grade	ATLAS English Language Arts 5th Grade	ATLAS English Language Arts 6th Grade	ATLAS English Language Arts 7th Grade	ATLAS English Language Arts 8th Grade	ATLAS English Language Arts 9th Grade	ATLAS English Language Arts 10th Grade	ATLAS English Language Arts All Grades	ATLAS Reading 3rd Grade	ATLAS Reading 4th Grade	ATLAS Reading 5th Grade	ATLAS Reading 6th Grade	ATLAS Reading 7th Grade	ATLAS Reading 8th Grade	ATLAS Reading 9th Grade	ATLAS Reading 10th Grade	ATLAS Reading All Grades	ATLAS Mathematics 3rd Grade	ATLAS Mathematics 4th Grade	ATLAS Mathematics 5th Grade	ATLAS Mathematics 6th Grade	ATLAS Mathematics 7th Grade	ATLAS Mathematics 8th Grade	ATLAS Mathematics All Grades	ATLAS Algebra 8th Grade	ATLAS Algebra 9th Grade	ATLAS Algebra All Grades	ATLAS Geometry 10th Grade	ATLAS Geometry All Grades	ATLAS Science 3rd Grade	ATLAS Science 4th Grade	ATLAS Science 5th Grade	ATLAS Science 6th Grade	ATLAS Science 7th Grade	ATLAS Science 8th Grade	ATLAS Science All Grades	ATLAS Biology 9th Grade	ATLAS Biology 10th Grade	ATLAS Biology All Grades	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Acorn Elementary School	Public	K-6	143 Polk Road 96	Mena	71953	Polk County	Ouachita River School District	No	No	No	Yes	(479) 394-4833	321	22	14.8	79.1%	287 (89.4%)	1 (0.3%)	11 (3.4%)	1 (0.3%)	5 (1.6%)	3 (0.9%)	13 (4.0%)	81	77^th of 495 public elementary schools	84.4%		62	193^rd of 497 public elementary schools	61.2%	116	44.5	48.1	35.9	57.1					46.8	50.0	52.0	48.7	59.6					52.7	41.7	65.4	38.4	69.1			55.0						55.6	48.1	51.2	52.4			51.5				$11,329	$1,461	$9,868
Acorn High School	Public	7-12	143 Polk Road 96	Mena	71953	Polk County	Ouachita River School District	No	No	No	No	(479) 394-5544	281	53	5.3	64.8%	257 (91.5%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (3.9%)	1 (0.4%)	8 (2.8%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.4%)	52	126^th of 291 public high schools	56.7%		57.8	112^th of 305 public high schools	63.3%	14					37.2	40.0	32.7	30.6	34.6					37.2	33.3	32.0	34.6	34.3					21.4	40.7	29.0		14.3	19.2	10.2	14.9					55.8	47.2	51.9		39.6	38.6	$12,130	$886	$11,244
Oden Schools	Public, Alternative	K-12	135 School Drive	Mena	71953	Montgomery County	Ouachita River School District	No	No	No	Yes	(870) 326-4311	133	29	4.5	78.2%	109 (82.0%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (6.0%)	6 (4.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (7.5%)								(n/a)			53.3			38.5		50.0	46.4			53.3			46.2		70.0	50.7			33.3			50.0	38.0								53.3			30.8	49.0		70.0	72.7	$15,195	$2,347	$12,848
Ua Rich Mountain Technical Center	Public	9-12	1100 College Drive	Mena	71953	Polk County	Ua Rich Mountain Technical Center	No	No	No	No	(479) 394-7622	0	0			0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Louise Durham Elementary School	Public	K-2	106 Reine Street N	Mena	71953	Polk County	Mena School District	No	No	No	Yes	(479) 394-2943	357	24	15.0	68.1%	295 (82.6%)	0 (0.0%)	34 (9.5%)	2 (0.6%)	6 (1.7%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (5.6%)								(n/a)																																									$13,490	$2,116	$11,374
Mena High School	Public	9-12	1200 Dallas Ave	Mena	71953	Polk County	Mena School District	No	No	No	Yes	(479) 394-1144	503	76	6.6	58.6%	432 (85.9%)	3 (0.6%)	30 (6.0%)	10 (2.0%)	11 (2.2%)	1 (0.2%)	16 (3.2%)	53.5	122^nd of 291 public high schools	58.1%		68.7	69^th of 305 public high schools	77.4%	53							29.3	31.0	30.1							29.9	33.6	31.5									29.1	29.2	31.2	31.4								33.6		31.8	$13,615	$890	$12,725
Mena Middle School	Public	6-8	700 S Morrow	Mena	71953	Polk County	Mena School District	No	No	No	Yes	(479) 394-2572	393	28	14.1	63.1%	339 (86.3%)	1 (0.3%)	25 (6.4%)	6 (1.5%)	6 (1.5%)	1 (0.3%)	15 (3.8%)	62.1	104^th of 324 public middle schools	67.9%		65.2	84^th of 335 public middle schools	74.9%	20				34.6	34.4	28.1			32.5				37.4	34.1	26.4			33.0				54.2	51.2	56.7	53.8	75.0		75.0						40.2	40.0	40.7	40.2				$13,553	$1,774	$11,779
Holly Harshman Elementary School	Public	3-5	1000 Geyer Drive	Mena	71953	Polk County	Mena School District	No	No	No	Yes	(479) 394-3151	438	23	19.3	65.5%	374 (85.4%)	2 (0.5%)	35 (8.0%)	3 (0.7%)	2 (0.5%)	1 (0.2%)	21 (4.8%)	63.9	170^th of 495 public elementary schools	65.7%		49.7	265^th of 497 public elementary schools	46.7%	95	37.1	42.8	40.3						40.2	37.9	41.3	37.4						38.8	49.2	35.5	33.7				38.8						42.7	56.5	50.6				50.2				$10,630	$1,753	$8,877
Polk County Virtual Academy	Public, Virtual, Charter, Alternative	1-12	1100 E Boundary Ave	Mena	71953	Polk County	Mena School District	Yes	No	Yes	No	(479) 394-1710	12	27	.4	41.7%	11 (91.7%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (8.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)																																									$7,614	$46	$7,567

Cities Near Zip Code 71953

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Mena	1.21 mi	9	63^rd
Vandervoort	17.83 mi	1
Cove	18.41 mi	1	167^th
Waldron	20.96 mi	4	221^st
Wickes	22.54 mi	1	14^th

See the top AR Arkansas cities

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Arkansas Division of Elementary and Secondary Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.