Summary:
Zip code 72076 in Jacksonville, Arkansas, is home to two middle schools serving grades 6-8: Jacksonville Middle School and Jacksonville Lighthouse Flightline Academy.
For parents comparing options, Jacksonville Lighthouse Flightline Academy stands out despite its smaller size (156 students). It outperforms the much larger Jacksonville Middle School (926 students) in all core subjects for the 2025-2026 school year, including science (29.7% proficient vs. 18%), English language arts (22.4% vs. 20.1%), and math (16.5% vs. 14%). This is notable because Flightline Academy serves a higher percentage of students eligible for free/reduced lunch (67.95% vs. 46.44%), suggesting its smaller class sizes (9.3:1 student-teacher ratio) and higher per-student spending ($13,538 vs. $12,349) may be effective. However, both schools rank in the bottom 10% of Arkansas middle schools, with Jacksonville Middle School at the 6th percentile and Jacksonville Lighthouse Flightline Academy at the 9th percentile. The charter school’s ranking has been volatile, likely due to its small enrollment, while the traditional school’s performance has been consistently low.
A key takeaway is the district-level contrast: Jacksonville North Pulaski School District ranks in the bottom 10% of Arkansas districts (8th percentile), while Arkansas Lighthouse Charter Schools ranks higher at the 22nd percentile. Additionally, Jacksonville Middle School shows an interesting anomaly: 38% of its Algebra test-takers scored proficient, exceeding the state average of 36.9%, even as its overall math proficiency lags far behind. This suggests the school may be effectively accelerating a select group of students, while most struggle with grade-level math.
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