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Thames Elementary

Q: Is Thames Elementary a good school?

Thames Elementary ranks 268 th of 377 Mississippi elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 1 star out of 5.

Public Grades PK, KG-5

268^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 377 Mississippi Elementary Schools

Better than 29% of Mississippi elementary schools

Summary

Thames Elementary is a PK–5 public school in Hattiesburg, MS, serving 619 students in the Hattiesburg Public School District. It is the largest elementary school in the district, and like most of its district counterparts, it serves a very high-poverty population—100% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The school currently ranks in the lower third of Mississippi elementary schools with a 1-star rating, well below the district average. However, this hasn't always been the case: Thames improved steadily for years, peaking at the 59th percentile in 2023–2024 before dropping sharply over the past two years.

One of the most striking findings is the combination of high attendance and low achievement. Thames has consistently posted chronic absenteeism rates around 11–13%, far better than the district's 21% and the state's 24%. Yet this strength hasn't translated into test score gains. For example, Woodley Elementary—a same-district school with nearly the same poverty level—has a chronic absenteeism rate nearly double Thames's, yet its 3rd grade ELA and math proficiency rates are roughly 40–47 percentage points higher. Rowan Elementary, another similar-poverty peer, also posts far stronger results. This suggests the achievement gap at Thames is not primarily about poverty or attendance, but rather about school-level instructional practices and supports.

Academically, Thames falls below district and state averages in nearly every subject and grade. The most persistent weakness is 5th grade math, where proficiency has remained low—just 27.5% in the most recent year, compared to 49.6% statewide. Historically, 5th grade science and ELA were bright spots, but those have faded over the last two years. With strong attendance and poverty levels similar to its higher-performing peers, Thames has real assets to build on. The clearest path forward is for the school to learn from the strategies of district neighbors like Rowan and Woodley, which achieve far stronger results under the same economic conditions.

619

Students ?

15.2

Student/teacher ratio ?

$13,647

Per pupil spending ?

56.1%

Directly certified for free meals (2024-25) ?

All students receive free meals (Community Eligibility, 2024-25)

2900 Jamestown Road
Hattiesburg, MS 39402

(601) 582-6655

District: Hattiesburg

Students who attend Thames Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Hattiesburg Steam Academy
	N R Burger Middle
High:	Hattiesburg High School

Racial breakdown:

African American:

72.7%

Two or more races:

18.1%

White:

4.4%

See top rated Mississippi elementary schools

Compare Thames Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 30th percentile in 2016 → 29th in 2026

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Mississippi average (42% vs 54% meeting standards)

!English Language Arts scores 13 pts below the Mississippi average

!Near the bottom of Hattiesburg's ranking

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school42%

District avg55%

Mississippi avg54%

268^th of 377

Mississippi public elementary schools ?

Bottom 29%▼ down 2 pts since 2016

See the entire ranking list of Mississippi Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

5^th of 5Elementary Schools in the Hattiesburg

49^th of 133Hattiesburg among Mississippi districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Mississippi percentile	Rating
2026	31.7	268 of 377	28.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	43.6	220 of 380	42.1%	★★☆☆☆
2024	58.9	159 of 380	58.2%	★★★☆☆
2023	48.2	186 of 358	48.0%	★★☆☆☆
2022	46.7	197 of 355	44.5%	★★☆☆☆
2021	45.3	202 of 352	42.6%	★★☆☆☆
2019	43.9	217 of 354	38.7%	★★☆☆☆
2018	25.6	282 of 351	19.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	20.9	334 of 406	17.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	30.2	274 of 394	30.5%	★★☆☆☆
2015	49.5	180 of 402	55.2%	★★★☆☆
2014	50.0	203 of 394	48.5%	★★☆☆☆
2013	54.8	185 of 408	54.7%	★★★☆☆
2012	44.7	232 of 414	44.0%	★★☆☆☆
2011	60.9	170 of 418	59.3%	★★★☆☆
2010	55.0	180 of 403	55.3%	★★★☆☆
2009	52.1	195 of 392	50.3%	★★★☆☆
2008	52.3	194 of 394	50.8%	★★★☆☆

By subject vs Mississippi (2025-2026) ?

Science61%-10 vs state

Mathematics40%-10 vs state

English Language Arts39%-13 vs state

5.0

2 ratings · 1 written review

5★2

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2★0

1★0

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What people are saying

by a student
Thursday, November 9, 2017

I loved THAMES and without it I wouldn't be where I am today so THANK YOU SOO MUCH THAMES!!!! Close Quote

Schools Near Thames Elementary

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				MAAP English Language Arts (2026)						MAAP Mathematics (2026)						MAAP Science (2026)		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/reduced lunch (2024-25)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	MAAP English Language Arts 3rd Grade	MAAP English Language Arts 4th Grade	MAAP English Language Arts 5th Grade	MAAP English Language Arts 6th Grade	MAAP English Language Arts 7th Grade	MAAP English Language Arts 8th Grade	MAAP Mathematics 3rd Grade	MAAP Mathematics 4th Grade	MAAP Mathematics 5th Grade	MAAP Mathematics 6th Grade	MAAP Mathematics 7th Grade	MAAP Mathematics 8th Grade	MAAP Science 5th Grade	MAAP Science 8th Grade	Total
Thames Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	2900 Jamestown Road	Hattiesburg	39402	Forrest County	Hattiesburg	No	No	No	Yes	(601) 582-6655	619	41	15.2	—	27 (4.4%)	450 (72.7%)	22 (3.6%)	7 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	112 (18.1%)	31.7	268^th of 377 public elementary schools	28.9%		43.6	220^th of 380 public elementary schools	42.1%	48	35.9	40.0	42.5				41.2	50.0	27.5				61.3		$13,647
Woodley Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	2006 O Ferrell St	Hattiesburg	39401	Forrest County	Hattiesburg	No	No	No	Yes	(601) 583-8112	422	27	15.8	—	43 (10.2%)	248 (58.8%)	112 (26.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (4.5%)	74	92^nd of 377 public elementary schools	75.6%		74.5	85^th of 380 public elementary schools	77.6%	7	75.8	59.7	50.7				88.9	65.3	50.0				78.3		$11,339
Grace Christian Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	2207 W 7th Street	Hattiesburg	39401	Forrest County	Hattiesburg	No	No	No	Yes	(601) 583-0662	367	22	16.3	—	7 (1.9%)	320 (87.2%)	7 (1.9%)	5 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	28 (7.6%)	64.6	123^rd of 377 public elementary schools	67.4%		66	129^th of 380 public elementary schools	66.1%	6	50.0	64.3	52.8				50.0	71.4	50.9				76.4		$12,446
Hawkins Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	901 Ida Ave.	Hattiesburg	39401	Forrest County	Hattiesburg	No	No	No	Yes	(601) 583-4311	283	23	12.3	—	9 (3.2%)	175 (61.8%)	78 (27.6%)	2 (0.7%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	18 (6.4%)	36.3	245^th of 377 public elementary schools	35.0%		37.6	247^th of 380 public elementary schools	35.0%	2	22.9	40.6	58.1				25.0	37.6	27.9				90.7		$14,576
Rowan Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	500 Martin Luther King Drive	Hattiesburg	39401	Forrest County	Hattiesburg	No	No	No	Yes	(601) 583-0960	425	26	16.6	—	1 (0.2%)	384 (90.4%)	21 (4.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (4.5%)	77.8	73^rd of 377 public elementary schools	80.6%		72.7	97^th of 380 public elementary schools	74.5%	24	50.0	72.9	61.9				59.3	71.1	66.7				80.5		$12,825
Longleaf Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	5279 W. 4th Street	Hattiesburg	39402	Forrest County	Lamar County School District	No	No	No	Yes	(601) 264-3858	787	55	14.3	56.5%	292 (37.1%)	356 (45.2%)	49 (6.2%)	30 (3.8%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	58 (7.4%)	69	111^th of 377 public elementary schools	70.6%		76.2	75^th of 380 public elementary schools	80.3%	36	59.6	68.7	63.9				56.6	63.5	49.5				66.0		$10,594
Rawls Springs Attendance Center	Public	PK, KG-6	10 Archie Smith Road	Hattiesburg	39402	Forrest County	Forrest County School District	No	No	No	Yes	(601) 268-2217	214	18	11.9	86.0%	47 (22.0%)	125 (58.4%)	15 (7.0%)	7 (3.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (9.3%)	52.1	174^th of 377 public elementary schools	53.8%		52	185^th of 380 public elementary schools	51.3%	11	43.5	37.5	56.7	23.5			43.4	58.3	70.0	29.4			80.0		$12,727
Earl Travillion Attendance Center	Public	PK, KG-8	316 Travillion Drive	Hattiesburg	39401	Forrest County	Forrest County School District	No	No	No	Yes	(601) 584-9303	261	27	9.7	96.9%	10 (3.8%)	183 (70.1%)	32 (12.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	36 (13.8%)	23.4	312^th of 377 public elementary schools	17.2%		21.3	319^th of 380 public elementary schools	16.1%	7	41.7	19.2	23.8	40.9	21.1	16.6	50.0	23.0	42.9	27.3	26.4	33.3	42.8	58.3	$13,805
Oak Grove Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	70 Leaf Lane	Hattiesburg	39402	Forrest County	Lamar County School District	No	No	No	Yes	(601) 264-9764	758	58	13.0	62.0%	291 (38.4%)	356 (47.0%)	44 (5.8%)	17 (2.2%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	49 (6.5%)	74.3	89^th of 377 public elementary schools	76.4%		73	95^th of 380 public elementary schools	75.0%	6	58.0	61.2	63.5				56.3	62.5	70.9				73.1		$10,829
Dixie Attendance Center	Public	PK, KG-8	790 Elks Lake Road	Hattiesburg	39401	Forrest County	Forrest County School District	No	No	No	Yes	(601) 582-4890	487	41	11.9	66.5%	265 (54.4%)	145 (29.8%)	37 (7.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	39 (8.0%)	79.3	64^th of 377 public elementary schools	83.0%		81.8	58^th of 380 public elementary schools	84.7%	6	63.8	66.7	83.4	42.9	42.0	55.8	60.9	70.6	81.2	53.0	68.0	58.2	87.5	58.1	$12,091

Frequently Asked Questions about Thames Elementary

What schools do graduates of Thames Elementary attend?

Students who attend Thames Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Hattiesburg Steam Academy
Middle : N R Burger Middle
High : Hattiesburg High School

How many students attend Thames Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 619 students attended Thames Elementary.

What district is Thames Elementary in?

Hattiesburg

Is Thames Elementary a good school?

Thames Elementary ranks 268^th of 377 Mississippi elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 1 star out of 5.

What is the racial makeup of Thames Elementary?

Students at Thames Elementary are 73% African American, 18% Two or more races, 4% White, 4% Hispanic, 1% Asian.

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Latest Mississippi data All new data »

2025–26 attendance data & graduation ratesNewOct 15, 2026

2024–25 attendance dataNewOct 6, 2026

2025–26 MAAP test scoresAug 21, 2026

2023–24 school spending dataSep 26, 2025

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Mississippi Department of 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.