Rowan Elementary

Rowan Elementary is a PK–5 public school in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, serving 425 students as part of the Hattiesburg Public School District. The school has earned a 4-star rating and currently ranks 72nd of 377 Mississippi elementary schools, placing it in the 81st percentile—a remarkable achievement for a school that sat in the bottom 8% of the state just ten years ago. Rowan's steady climb from a 0-star school in 2015–2016 to a 4-star school today makes it one of the most compelling improvement stories in the Hattiesburg area.

Academically, Rowan exceeds Mississippi state averages in every tested subject and grade. Its 4th-grade math proficiency (71.1%) is nearly 20 points above the state average, and 5th-grade science has stayed consistently strong, ranging between 74% and 89% over four years. Rowan is the highest-ranked nearby elementary school in its own district, outranking Hawkins Elementary—just half a mile away with nearly identical poverty levels—by more than 170 state ranking positions. It also outperforms wealthier schools like Longleaf Elementary in Lamar County and Petal Elementary 3-4 in several key subjects, despite serving a student body where nearly all families qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

Rowan's attendance is better than expected for a high-poverty school, with a chronic absenteeism rate of 15.4% in 2023–2024—below both the district rate of 21.3% and the state rate of 23.9%. The main challenges ahead include stabilizing early-grade performance, which has fluctuated in 3rd grade, and managing a rising student–teacher ratio that has climbed from 12.6 to 16.6 over the past two years. Even with larger class sizes, Rowan continues to deliver results that rival suburban schools with far lower poverty rates, pointing to strong school-level practices and effective instruction that are overcoming demographic odds.