Greene County Schools

Greene County Schools is a small, rural Mississippi district with five schools serving about 1,621 students in pre-K through 12th grade, where nearly every student (98–99%) qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch. The district ranks 58th out of 134 Mississippi districts, but that mid-tier ranking hides a dramatic range of outcomes. Greene County High School is the clear academic standout, ranking in the top 7% of Mississippi high schools (5 stars) with stunning test scores—93.4% proficiency in Biology and 87.5% in Algebra I, both far above state averages—plus a 93.2% graduation rate. At the other extreme, Mclain Attendance Center is the district’s lowest performer, sitting in the bottom 14% of elementary schools (1 star), with only 12.5% of 5th graders and 11.1% of 6th graders proficient in math.

Among the remaining schools, Leakesville Junior High (3 stars, 64th percentile) is a solid middle school, particularly in 8th grade science (64.6% vs. 57.8% state) and 8th grade ELA (43.9% vs. 40.9%), though 5th grade math lags 18 points behind the state. Sand Hill School, a K-8 campus, is a mixed performer (3 stars, 50th percentile) with strong showings in middle-grade math and 5th grade ELA, but experienced steep year-over-year declines in some grades. Leakesville Elementary School is the weakest of the traditional elementary options (2 stars, 44th percentile), with 3rd grade math proficiency at just 39.5% versus the state’s 48.8%.

The most striking pattern is the contrast between excellent high school results and struggling elementary/middle school math. While the high school excels in Algebra I and Biology, math proficiency collapses in grades 5 and 6 across the district—most severely at Mclain, where roughly 9 in 10 students are not proficient. Science, however, is a consistent bright spot, with multiple schools exceeding state averages. Chronic absenteeism is below the state average everywhere except the high school, where 28.6% of students are chronically absent despite strong test scores. Mclain’s sharp decline from the 47th percentile in 2018-19 to the 14th today warrants urgent attention, while the high school’s success proves that poverty need not dictate academic outcomes.