Summary:
This analysis examines seven elementary schools serving grades K-4 in zip code 72034 (Conway, AR), all part of the Conway School District, which is ranked in the top 35% of Arkansas districts.
The standout schools in this area are Carolyn Lewis Elementary School and Woodrow Cummins Elementary School, which consistently rank in the top 20% of Arkansas elementary schools with 4-star ratings. Notably, these top performers have the lowest per-student spending in the area (around $11,000 per student), while the lowest-performing schools—Ida Burns Elementary School and Marguerite Vann Elementary School—have the highest spending (over $12,500 per student), suggesting that spending alone does not drive success. Jim Stone Elementary School is a rising star, showing the largest improvement in state ranking, jumping from the 60th to the 75th percentile. Conversely, Julia Lee Moore Elementary School experienced a puzzling decline, dropping from a 5-star rating to a 3-star rating in the most recent year.
Key metrics show the average English Language Arts proficiency across all seven schools is 47.7%, above the state average of 39.4%, while math proficiency averages 44.3%, nearly matching the state average. The percentage of students receiving free/reduced lunch ranges from 36.89% at Woodrow Cummins to 70.75% at Marguerite Vann, with a strong correlation between lower poverty rates and higher performance. Student-teacher ratios average 16.6:1, ranging from 15.0:1 at Julia Lee Moore to 17.9:1 at Woodrow Cummins. The district's overall ranking masks significant internal disparities, with a wide gap between top performers like Carolyn Lewis and Woodrow Cummins and struggling schools like Ellen Smith Elementary School and Marguerite Vann, which rank in the bottom 25% of the state.
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