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Best Elementary Schools in Columbus, MS

At a glance

Schools

3,016

Students

Districts

Top rankedNew Hope Elementary175^th of 383 Mississippi elementary schools

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Biggest riser

Franklin Academy up 49 spots statewide this year

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Smallest classes

West Lowndes Elementary 11.1 students per teacher

SchoolDigger ratings

3★

1★

Compare Mississippi cities →See the top-ranked Mississippi schools →

Summary:

The city of Columbus, Mississippi is home to 7 elementary schools across two school districts - Lowndes County School District and Columbus Municipal School District. These schools serve students from pre-kindergarten through 5th grade and face a range of challenges, including high poverty levels and chronic absenteeism.

Among the standout schools, New Hope Elementary School in the Lowndes County district performs above the district and state averages on standardized tests, particularly in 4th and 5th grade English Language Arts and Math. In contrast, schools in the Columbus Municipal district, such as Fairview Elementary School, struggle with lower proficiency rates, though they still manage to outperform the district average in some areas.

Across the board, the elementary schools in Columbus face significant challenges related to poverty, with most schools having 100% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. Additionally, chronic absenteeism rates are uniformly high at 23.9%, which may be impacting student learning and achievement. While the data highlights the stark differences between the two districts, it also suggests that strong performance is possible even in challenging circumstances, as seen at New Hope Elementary and Fairview 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 (2025)				Ranking (2024)				MAAP English Language Arts (2025)				MAAP Mathematics (2025)				MAAP Science (2025)	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	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	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
Stokes Beard Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	311 Martin Luther King Dr	Columbus	39701	Lowndes County	Columbus Municipal School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 241-7270	369	26	14.4	100.0%	6 (1.6%)	353 (95.7%)	3 (0.8%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.6%)	17.8	338^th of 383 public elementary schools	11.7%		21.3	320^th of 390 public elementary schools	17.9%	18	16.4	32.5	47.3		19.6	42.5	31.5		39.4	$11,893
Cook Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	2217 7th Street N	Columbus	39701	Lowndes County	Columbus Municipal School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 241-7180	415	29	14.2	99.8%	18 (4.3%)	358 (86.3%)	25 (6.0%)	6 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (1.9%)	23	313^th of 383 public elementary schools	18.3%		27.6	294^th of 390 public elementary schools	24.6%	19	34.8	33.4	36.5		21.5	44.4	42.3		40.4	$12,452
Fairview Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	225 Airline Road	Columbus	39702	Lowndes County	Columbus Municipal School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 241-7140	244	16	15.4	99.6%	2 (0.8%)	239 (98.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.2%)	18.9	332^nd of 383 public elementary schools	13.3%		35.2	262^nd of 390 public elementary schools	32.8%	70	19.2	44.7	29.5		21.3	50.0	25.0		40.9	$12,216
Franklin Academy	Public	PK, KG-5	501 3rd Avenue N	Columbus	39701	Lowndes County	Columbus Municipal School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 241-7150	231	17	13.9	100.0%	13 (5.6%)	195 (84.4%)	6 (2.6%)	6 (2.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (4.8%)	27.9	286^th of 383 public elementary schools	25.3%		19.7	335^th of 390 public elementary schools	14.1%	49	13.3	31.0	40.5		31.1	51.7	35.1		67.5	$12,114
Sale Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	520 Warpath Road	Columbus	39702	Lowndes County	Columbus Municipal School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 241-7260	290	18	16.4	100.0%	7 (2.4%)	271 (93.4%)	6 (2.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (2.1%)	27.6	287^th of 383 public elementary schools	25.1%		26.9	297^th of 390 public elementary schools	23.8%	10	28.3	34.9	42.5		30.5	39.5	37.5		62.5	$12,394
New Hope Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	199 Enlow Road	Columbus	39702	Lowndes County	Lowndes County School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 244-4760	1,191	85	14.0	66.8%	603 (50.6%)	527 (44.2%)	13 (1.1%)	2 (0.2%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	45 (3.8%)	54.4	175^th of 383 public elementary schools	54.3%		52.7	187^th of 390 public elementary schools	52.1%	12	44.9	60.1	59.2		46.5	61.4	46.8		56.2	$10,482
West Lowndes Elementary	Public	PK, KG-6	1000 Gilmer Wilburn Road	Columbus	39701	Lowndes County	Lowndes County School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 244-5050	276	25	11.1	98.6%	3 (1.1%)	268 (97.1%)	4 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.4%)	23.1	312^th of 383 public elementary schools	18.5%		43.4	225^th of 390 public elementary schools	42.3%	87	21.6	34.3	38.5	30.3	37.8	25.7	30.8	54.6	42.3	$15,813

Cities Near Columbus

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
West Point	10.4 mi	15
Caledonia	12.24 mi	3	8^th
Hamilton	14.45 mi	1
Starkville	16.12 mi	16
Crawford	20.21 mi	1

See the top MS Mississippi cities

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.