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South Side Upper Elementary

Q: Is South Side Upper Elementary a good school?

South Side Upper Elementary ranks 116 th of 377 Mississippi elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 3-6

116^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 377 Mississippi Elementary Schools

Better than 69% of Mississippi elementary schools

Summary

South Side Upper Elementary is a grades 3-6 school serving 310 students in Picayune, MS, and it is currently the top-performing elementary school in the Picayune School District, ranking #115 out of 377 Mississippi elementary schools with a 3-star rating and a 69th percentile placement. That represents a strong jump from #146 the prior year, close to its recent peak of #101 in 2023-2024. By comparison, Roseland Park Elementary ranks #163, Nicholson Elementary ranks #194, and West Side Elementary ranks #218, making South Side Upper the clear leader among its Picayune peers.

Academically, South Side Upper shines in upper-grade math: 5th grade math proficiency is 72.7% (compared to 49.6% statewide), 6th grade math is 68.5%, and 4th grade math is 57.9%. English Language Arts is also strong, with 6th grade ELA at 53.4% and 4th grade ELA at 59.4%, both above state averages. Science in 5th grade is a consistent strength, posting 76.2% proficiency in 2025-2026. The one soft spot is 3rd grade math, where only 35.9% of students were proficient — well below the state rate of 48.8% — though the school more than compensates by 4th grade.

South Side Upper is a high-poverty school (nearly 80% of students qualify for free/reduced lunch) yet still outperforms state averages in most subjects. Its student-teacher ratio of 14.4 to 1 is better than most nearby elementary schools, and chronic absenteeism at 28.5% is below the district rate of 30.2%, though still above the state average. Located near South Side Lower Elementary (PK-2), the school serves as the natural next step for students in this attendance zone and offers the advantage of serving through 6th grade, where it posts particularly strong math results. Over the past decade, South Side Upper has never fallen below a 3-star rating, making it a dependable choice for Picayune families.

310

Students ?

14.4

Student/teacher ratio ?

$9,768

Per pupil spending ?

79.4%

Free/discounted lunch ?

1500 Rosa Street
Picayune, MS 39466

(601) 798-1105

District: Picayune School District

Students who attend South Side Upper Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Picayune Junior High School
High:	Picayune Memorial High School

Racial breakdown:

White:

59.7%

African American:

31.3%

Hispanic:

5.5%

See top rated Mississippi elementary schools

Compare South Side Upper Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 57th percentile in 2015 → 69th in 2026

Strengths

✓Test scores above the Mississippi average (60% vs 53% meeting standards)

✓Ranking is trending up — up 12 percentile points since 2015

✓Among the top-ranked schools in Picayune School District

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school60%

District avg53%

Mississippi avg53%

116^th of 377

Mississippi public elementary schools ?

Top 31%▲ up 11 pts since 2016

From top 42% (2016) to top 31% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Mississippi Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

1^st of 4Elementary Schools in the Picayune School District

50^th of 133Picayune School District 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	67.2	116 of 377	69.2%	★★★☆☆
2025	63.0	146 of 380	61.6%	★★★☆☆
2024	72.1	101 of 380	73.4%	★★★★☆
2023	62.9	135 of 358	62.3%	★★★☆☆
2022	53.9	164 of 355	53.8%	★★★☆☆
2019	60.9	148 of 354	58.2%	★★★☆☆
2018	59.9	151 of 351	57.0%	★★★☆☆
2017	54.4	174 of 406	57.1%	★★★☆☆
2016	57.0	166 of 394	57.9%	★★★☆☆
2015	51.7	174 of 402	56.7%	★★★☆☆
2014	49.3	210 of 394	46.7%	★★☆☆☆
2013	42.6	248 of 408	39.2%	★★☆☆☆
2012	40.1	258 of 414	37.7%	★★☆☆☆
2011	37.7	286 of 418	31.6%	★★☆☆☆
2010	43.3	245 of 403	39.2%	★★☆☆☆
2009	42.9	238 of 392	39.3%	★★☆☆☆
2008	35.3	270 of 394	31.5%	★★☆☆☆

By subject vs Mississippi (2025-2026) ?

Science76%+5 vs state

Mathematics59%+8 vs state

English Language Arts56%+4 vs state

★

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Schools Near South Side Upper 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/Discounted Lunch Recipients (2025)	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 Mathematics 3rd Grade	MAAP Mathematics 4th Grade	MAAP Mathematics 5th Grade	MAAP Mathematics 6th Grade	MAAP Science 5th Grade	Total
South Side Upper Elementary	Public	3-6	1500 Rosa Street	Picayune	39466	Pearl River County	Picayune School District	No	No	No	Yes	(601) 798-1105	310	21	14.4	79.4%	185 (59.7%)	97 (31.3%)	17 (5.5%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (2.9%)	67.2	116^th of 377 public elementary schools	69.2%		63	146^th of 380 public elementary schools	61.6%	30	53.8	59.4	55.9	53.4	35.9	57.9	72.7	68.5	76.2	$9,768
South Side Lower Elementary	Public	PK, KG-2	400 South Beech Street	Picayune	39466	Pearl River County	Picayune School District	No	No	No	Yes	(601) 799-0683	320	19	17.0	82.2%	184 (57.5%)	101 (31.6%)	23 (7.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (3.8%)								(n/a)										$9,726
West Side Elementary	Public	K-6	111 Kirkwood Street	Picayune	39466	Pearl River County	Picayune School District	No	No	No	Yes	(601) 798-3625	444	26	16.9	74.1%	267 (60.1%)	110 (24.8%)	36 (8.1%)	8 (1.8%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (4.7%)	42.7	219^th of 377 public elementary schools	41.9%		40.9	228^th of 380 public elementary schools	40.0%	9	46.5	53.9	52.8	46.5	38.6	31.7	26.4	37.5	79.3	$10,055
Roseland Park Elementary	Public	K-6	1610 Gilcrease Street	Picayune	39466	Pearl River County	Picayune School District	No	No	No	Yes	(601) 798-6824	370	18	20.3		210 (56.8%)	106 (28.6%)	35 (9.5%)	9 (2.4%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (2.4%)	55.4	164^th of 377 public elementary schools	56.5%		39.1	239^th of 380 public elementary schools	37.1%	75	44.3	62.5	53.3	53.5	48.1	37.5	46.7	60.5	71.2	$11,030
Nicholson Elementary	Public	K-6	1887 Hwy 11 South	Picayune	39463	Pearl River County	Picayune School District	No	No	No	Yes	(601) 798-6309	324	22	14.6	84.6%	154 (47.5%)	84 (25.9%)	69 (21.3%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (4.6%)	48.1	195^th of 377 public elementary schools	48.3%		33.3	264^th of 380 public elementary schools	30.5%	69	51.3	52.1	52.1	38.8	67.5	54.1	45.8	32.6	60.4	$10,841
Pearl River Central Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	116 Alphabet Ave	Carriere	39426	Pearl River County	Pearl River County School District	No	No	No	Yes	(601) 799-4519	1,414	84	16.8	66.1%	1,191 (84.2%)	43 (3.0%)	107 (7.6%)	3 (0.2%)	5 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	65 (4.6%)	70.8	107^th of 377 public elementary schools	71.6%		67.4	125^th of 380 public elementary schools	67.1%	18	59.5	54.0	55.7		62.7	61.2	51.4		85.3	$9,417
West Hancock Elementary	Public	K-5	23350 Highway 43	Picayune	39466	Pearl River County	Hancock School District	No	No	No	Yes	(228) 586-6054	349	26	13.4	75.1%	305 (87.4%)	13 (3.7%)	16 (4.6%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (3.7%)	89.3	29^th of 377 public elementary schools	92.3%		73.3	91^st of 380 public elementary schools	76.1%	62	69.1	61.2	78.7		69.1	69.4	72.2		96.7	$13,554
Hancock North Central School	Public	K-5	6122 Cuevas Town Road	Kiln	39556	Hancock County	Hancock School District	No	No	No	Yes	(228) 255-7641	404	29	13.9	69.8%	380 (94.1%)	6 (1.5%)	11 (2.7%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.5%)	93.3	13^th of 377 public elementary schools	96.6%		83.7	50^th of 380 public elementary schools	86.8%	37	69.6	71.4	75.9		83.9	81.4	73.7		93.1	$12,517
East Hancock Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	4221 Kiln Delisle Rd.	Kiln	39556	Hancock County	Hancock School District	No	No	No	Yes	(228) 255-8372	633	30	20.7	48.5%	549 (86.7%)	17 (2.7%)	32 (5.1%)	8 (1.3%)	3 (0.5%)	1 (0.2%)	23 (3.6%)	96.7	3^rd of 377 public elementary schools	99.2%		91.8	18^th of 380 public elementary schools	95.3%	15	74.7	76.6	83.9		86.8	91.8	87.5		93.7	$11,019

Frequently Asked Questions about South Side Upper Elementary

What schools do graduates of South Side Upper Elementary attend?

Students who attend South Side Upper Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Picayune Junior High School
High : Picayune Memorial High School

How many students attend South Side Upper Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 310 students attended South Side Upper Elementary.

What district is South Side Upper Elementary in?

Picayune School District

What is the racial makeup of South Side Upper Elementary?

Students at South Side Upper Elementary are 60% White, 31% African American, 5% Hispanic, 3% Two or more races.

Is South Side Upper Elementary a good school?

South Side Upper Elementary ranks 116^th of 377 Mississippi elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

Rate South Side Upper Elementary!

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Latest Mississippi data All new data »

2024–25 attendance dataNewOct 6, 2026

2025–26 MAAP test scoresAug 21, 2026

2023–24 school spending dataSep 26, 2025

2023–24 through 2024–25 attendance data & graduation ratesSep 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.