Summary:
Zip code 72360 in Marianna, Arkansas, is home to two schools within the Lee County School District, serving a combined 698 students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade in a community facing significant economic challenges.
The standout school in the area is Anna Strong Learning Academy, an elementary school (PK-6) with 417 students that shows positive momentum. Its state ranking percentile has improved from the 10th to the 16th percentile over the past two years, and it consistently outperforms Lee High School in every subject. For example, in English Language Arts, Anna Strong achieved a 22.7% proficiency rate compared to Lee High School's 11.1%. The elementary school also demonstrates a clear upward trend in math proficiency as students progress, peaking at 34.7% in 6th grade—the closest any grade in the district comes to the state average of 45.1%. In contrast, Lee High School (7-12, 281 students) faces extreme challenges, including alarmingly low proficiency in advanced math—only 9.4% in Algebra and 2.6% in Geometry—and a 5.3% dropout rate.
Key metrics reveal stark contrasts. While both schools serve a nearly 100% economically disadvantaged population, Lee High School spends $18,265 per student (the highest in the zip code) and has a very low student-teacher ratio of 5.5:1, yet achieves the lowest academic results. Anna Strong, with a higher ratio of 16.1:1 and lower per-pupil spending of $17,098, shows better academic performance. The district ranks in the bottom 7% of Arkansas schools, and the data suggests that challenges compound over time, with high school performance significantly worse than elementary. For parents, this means that while Anna Strong Learning Academy offers a glimmer of hope, particularly in elementary math, the overall picture indicates a district in need of systemic intervention.
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