Summary:
Bay Springs, Mississippi, is served by the West Jasper School District and has three public schools — Bay Springs Elementary School (PK–5), Bay Springs Middle School (6–8), and Bay Springs High School (9–12) — together enrolling 792 students in a high-poverty area along Highway 18.
The district earns 3 stars statewide, ranking 47th of 134 districts, but that rating masks significant gaps between schools. All three schools serve very high-poverty populations, with 94–97% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. Bay Springs Elementary School is the strongest performer in the city, ranking 219th of 377 Mississippi elementary schools and posting above-state proficiency in 5th grade math (56.6% vs. 49.6%) and 5th grade science (73.6% vs. 71.5%). It also has the lowest chronic absenteeism rate in the district at 16.5%, well below the state average of 23.9%. However, the elementary school saw alarming declines this year, most notably in 4th grade math, which plunged 39 points from 53.5% to just 14.5% proficient.
Bay Springs Middle School is the lowest-ranked school in the city at 188th of 260 Mississippi middle schools (1 star), and every subject tested is below state averages. The most concerning result is 7th grade English language arts, where just 18.6% of students are proficient — meaning more than 4 in 5 students read below grade level. Bay Springs High School, meanwhile, has the most urgent red flag: a 42.1% chronic absenteeism rate, nearly double the state average of 23.9%. Attendance problems likely feed into the high school's English II proficiency of 27.2% (compared to 49.3% statewide) and a graduation rate of 88.9%, below the district's 92.8%. For parents, the elementary school is a relative bright spot, but the middle school's reading struggles and the high school's attendance crisis are the most pressing concerns.
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