Best Public Schools in Cleveland, MS

Summary:

The city of Cleveland, Mississippi is home to 6 schools that serve students from elementary through high school, all part of the Cleveland School District. While the district is ranked 86 out of 130 in the state and rated 2 stars by SchoolDigger, a few schools stand out in the data.

Cleveland Central High School has the highest enrollment with 816 students and a relatively high 4-year graduation rate of 89.4%. However, its test scores are below the state average, with only 38-51% of students proficient or better in the various MAAP subject tests. In contrast, Parks Elementary School has some of the highest test scores among the elementary schools, with 55% of 5th graders proficient or better in English Language Arts and 50% proficient or better in Science.

Across the district, all schools have a high chronic absenteeism rate of around 23.9% and 100% of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, indicating significant socioeconomic challenges. Student-teacher ratios range from 11.7 to 17.0, with the elementary schools having the lower ratios. While the district as a whole performs below the state averages in MAAP subject tests, the data suggests that there may be pockets of success, such as at Parks Elementary, that could provide valuable insights for improving the district's overall performance.

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 Algebra I (2025)	MAAP English II (2025)	MAAP Science (2025)		MAAP Biology (2025)	MAAP U.S. History1 (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 English Language Arts 7th Grade	MAAP English Language Arts 8th Grade	MAAP Mathematics 3rd Grade	MAAP Mathematics 4th Grade	MAAP Mathematics 5th Grade	MAAP Mathematics 6th Grade	MAAP Mathematics 7th Grade	MAAP Mathematics 8th Grade	MAAP Algebra I End of Course	MAAP English II End of Course	MAAP Science 5th Grade	MAAP Science 8th Grade	MAAP Biology End of Course	MAAP U.S. History1 End of Course	Total
Cleveland Vocational Technical Complex	Public	8-12	601 Third Street	Cleveland	38732	Bolivar County	Cleveland School District	No	No	No	No	(662) 843-8818	0	0	.0		0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Nailor Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-2	600 Cross Street	Cleveland	38732	Bolivar County	Cleveland School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 843-4528	256	14	18.7	100.0%	2 (0.8%)	245 (95.7%)	3 (1.2%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (2.0%)								(n/a)																			$12,045
Parks Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	1301 Terrace Road	Cleveland	38732	Bolivar County	Cleveland School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 843-3166	265	17	16.0	100.0%	94 (35.5%)	120 (45.3%)	19 (7.2%)	10 (3.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	22 (8.3%)	21.1	326^th of 383 public elementary schools	14.9%		28.8	284^th of 390 public elementary schools	27.2%	42	25.6	18.9	55.0	29.6			36.8	18.9	40.0	37.0					50.0				$13,034
Pearman Elementary School	Public	1-6	306 Merritt Drive	Cleveland	38732	Bolivar County	Cleveland School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 843-4484	186	12	15.7	100.0%	16 (8.6%)	141 (75.8%)	19 (10.2%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (4.8%)	10.1	360^th of 383 public elementary schools	6.0%		12.4	356^th of 390 public elementary schools	8.7%	4	40.7	20.5	20.0	20.0			7.4	25.0	14.3	33.3					32.4				$13,390
Alternative School	Public	5-12	601 Third Street	Cleveland	38732	Bolivar County	Cleveland School District	No	No	No	No	(662) 846-6478	0	0	.0		0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Cleveland Central Middle School	Public	7-8	601 Lucy Seabery Dr	Cleveland	38732	Bolivar County	Cleveland School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 843-2338	423	26	16.5	99.5%	67 (15.8%)	319 (75.4%)	19 (4.5%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	15 (3.5%)	24.6	208^th of 266 public middle schools	21.8%		15.3	233^rd of 264 public middle schools	11.7%	25					21.7	31.0					33.4	21.9				45.3			$12,526
D.M. Smith Elementary	Public	3-6	715 Martin Luther King Dr	Cleveland	38732	Bolivar County	Cleveland School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 843-4355	233	18	12.7	99.6%	1 (0.4%)	218 (93.6%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (5.2%)	24.9	301^st of 383 public elementary schools	21.4%		11.8	360^th of 390 public elementary schools	7.7%	59	17.3	27.8	32.5	20.9			42.7	55.6	35.7	35.4					60.4				$13,039
Cleveland Central High School	Public	9-12	300 W. Sunflower St	Cleveland	38732	Bolivar County	Cleveland School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 843-2460	799	45	17.7	99.9%	85 (10.6%)	574 (71.8%)	36 (4.5%)	9 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	94 (11.8%)	25.8	166^th of 232 public high schools	28.4%		19.7	189^th of 228 public high schools	17.1%	23													45.9	38.0			45.1	51.1	$14,369

Cities Near Cleveland

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Boyle	2.62 mi	1	43^rd
Merigold	7.33 mi	1	50^th
Shaw	9.32 mi	2	174^th
Mound Bayou	9.58 mi	1	115^th
Ruleville	10.23 mi	3	167^th

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.