Summary:
Avon, Mississippi is home to two schools in the high-poverty Western Line Schools district — Riverside Elementary School (grades PK–6, 402 students) and Riverside High School (grades 7–12, 315 students) — with no standalone middle or alternative schools in the city. The district is ranked 83rd out of 134 districts in Mississippi, placing it in the lower half of the state. Both schools share the same campus on Riverside Road, yet they sit on opposite trajectories.
Riverside Elementary School is the clear positive standout. Its state ranking has climbed from 308th (21st percentile) in 2023–2024 to 242nd (37th percentile) in 2024–2025, and now 187th (50th percentile) in 2025–2026 — moving from the bottom quintile to the exact state median in just two years. The school tops state averages in several areas, including 6th grade math (64.3% proficient vs. 52.7% statewide) and 4th grade ELA (54.2% vs. 52.4% statewide). Its chronic absenteeism rate of 16.6% is far better than the district (23.5%) and state (23.9%) averages, and it posted a remarkable 37.9-point jump in 6th grade math proficiency in a single year.
In contrast, Riverside High School is struggling. Its ranking has swung wildly — from 172nd in 2023–2024 to an impressive 56th in 2024–2025, before collapsing to 183rd (18th percentile) in 2025–2026. The school is below state averages in every tested subject, with the widest gap in Algebra I (34.1% proficient vs. 66.0% statewide) and English II (35.5% vs. 49.3%). The graduation rate is just 72.9% versus 89.2% statewide, and chronic absenteeism is a serious crisis at 39.9% — nearly 2.4 times the elementary school's rate. Poverty is nearly universal at both schools, with free/reduced lunch rates around 99–100%. The elementary school's upward momentum offers a genuine bright spot, but the high school needs urgent intervention, especially around attendance and core academic subjects.
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