Schools in Pope, MS

Pope, Mississippi is home to a single school — Pope School — which serves approximately 549 students in grades Pre-K through 8th grade as part of the South Panola School District. With a 73.59% free/reduced lunch rate, the school serves a high-poverty population yet has maintained a consistent 3-star rating and sits in the upper third of Mississippi schools, ranking 125th out of 377 schools statewide in 2025–2026.

Pope School's greatest academic strength is English Language Arts, where it has outperformed both the district and state averages in both 2024–2025 and 2025–2026. The school also showed a remarkable turnaround in math, going from below district and state averages in 2024–2025 to surpassing both (+6.2 points over the district and +0.5 over the state) in 2025–2026. Standout results include 6th grade math proficiency of 61.9% and dramatic 8th grade gains across all subjects, with ELA jumping from 36.5% to 48.9% and math from 37.7% to 51.2%. The 8th grade now exceeds district and state averages in ELA and science.

However, not all areas are thriving. 7th grade ELA proficiency collapsed from 45.9% to 26.8%, falling roughly 10 points below the state average. 5th grade math and science also remain below district and state levels, though math is improving. Chronic absenteeism stands at 26.0% — better than the district's 33.9% but slightly above the state's 23.9%. Overall, Pope School is a solid, reliable choice in the area, especially strong in reading and middle-grade math, but families may want to monitor the school's progress in 7th grade ELA and 5th grade math and science.