Edna M Scott Elementary School

Edna M Scott Elementary School serves 239 students in grades 1–5 in Leland, Mississippi, as part of the Leland School District, which holds a 2-star rating and ranks in the 40th percentile of Mississippi districts. A key strength is attendance: its chronic absenteeism rate of 17% is well below the state average of 23.9% and far lower than nearby schools like Stern Elementary (33.8%), Webb Elementary (32.1%), and Akin Elementary (32.5%). The school also posted a bright spot in 3rd grade reading, with 55.5% proficiency—above the state rate of 48.5% and competitive with the strongest nearby schools.

However, academic performance weakens in upper elementary. Fourth and 5th grade English Language Arts proficiency was 31.8% and 36.6% respectively, both well below state averages. Math also sits below state levels at every grade tested. The most dramatic finding is the volatility of 5th grade scores: in 2024–25, 5th grade science proficiency was 86.5%, but it plunged to 51.2% in 2025–26—the lowest among all nearby schools reporting science scores. This pattern suggests a small-school cohort effect, where a single strong or weak group of students can significantly shift results from year to year.

Edna M Scott's student-to-teacher ratio jumped to 18.0 in 2024–25, the highest of any nearby elementary school, up from roughly 12 in prior years. The school has shown real improvement from its bottom-10% rankings in the mid-2010s, reaching the 47th percentile in 2024–25 before slipping to the 27th percentile in 2025–26. Meanwhile, Akin Elementary, serving a similarly high-poverty population nearby, earned a 4-star rating and 81st percentile ranking—a reminder that strong results are achievable in the region. For parents, Edna M Scott offers a solid attendance culture and promising early reading gains, but faces clear challenges in math and upper-elementary literacy.