Clara School

Clara School is a PK–8 campus in Waynesboro, Mississippi, serving 418 students in the Wayne County School District, where nearly every student (99%) qualifies for free/reduced lunch. Despite this high-poverty context, Clara ranks 117th out of 377 Mississippi elementary schools (69th percentile) with a 3-star rating — well above its home district, which ranks only 80th of 134 districts (40th percentile) with a 2-star rating.

Clara is the clear academic anchor of the area, outranking every comparable school within roughly 16 miles. Sand Hill School, its closest competitor, sits at the state median (50th percentile), while Buckatunna School, Beat Four School, Wayne Central School, and Waynesboro Riverview School all rank in the bottom 40% of Mississippi schools. On 2025–2026 state tests, Clara posted the highest average proficiency among nearby schools in English Language Arts (53.2%), math (49.1%), and science (74.4%). Early literacy is a particularly strong point: 71.4% of 3rd graders and 75.0% of 4th graders scored proficient in ELA, far above district and state averages. Fifth-grade science reached 82.2% proficiency, and the school has consistently exceeded state science averages for three straight years. Clara also posts remarkably low chronic absenteeism — just 11.0% in 2023–2024 versus 23.9% statewide — along with a favorable student–teacher ratio of roughly 14:1.

The main area for improvement is middle-school English Language Arts, especially 7th grade, where proficiency dropped to 29.7% in 2025–2026 after a strong 59.4% showing the prior year. Despite that volatility, Clara's overall trajectory has been solidly upward since 2018–2019, and it remains a standout success story in rural Mississippi — a high-poverty school that consistently beats the odds and outperforms its neighbors.