Summary:
The Brookhaven School District is a small, traditional public school district in Brookhaven, Mississippi, with five schools serving grades PK–12, including two elementary schools, two middle schools, and one high school. The district serves a high-poverty population — roughly 78% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch — yet all schools maintain favorable student-teacher ratios under 14:1, and the district overall ranks at the 48th percentile among Mississippi districts with a two-star rating.
For parents, the standout school is Brookhaven Elementary School, which ranks at the 64th percentile and outperforms the state in 3rd and 4th grade math and 4th grade ELA, despite an 81% poverty rate. It has also improved steadily over three years. At the other end, Brookhaven High School is the biggest concern: it has the district’s highest chronic absenteeism at 29%, a graduation rate below the state average (82.8% vs. 89.2%), and all tested subjects below state averages. Among middle schools, Alexander Junior High shines in Algebra I (92.9% proficient) but struggles in grade-level ELA and math, while Lipsey Middle School saw a dramatic drop in 5th grade math to just 23.1% proficient — the lowest single-subject score in the district. Mamie Martin Elementary has no test scores but posts the best attendance in the district, with chronic absenteeism at 15.7% versus the state’s 23.9%.
In short, Brookhaven Elementary proves that high poverty does not prevent strong early math results, while the high school’s attendance and graduation rates signal a need for intervention. The middle grades are mixed: watch for the 5th grade math decline at Lipsey and consider whether Alexander Junior High’s Algebra results reflect only an accelerated group. Overall, parents should view the district as one with real strengths in lower elementary and targeted advanced courses, but with significant challenges in middle school math and high school engagement.
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