Laurel School District

Summary:

The Laurel School District in Mississippi operates 6 schools, including 3 elementary schools, 2 middle schools, and 1 high school. The district as a whole is underperforming, ranking 81 out of 130 districts in the state and receiving a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger.

The standout school in the district is the Laurel Magnet School Of The Arts, an exceptional elementary school that consistently ranks among the top 3-17 elementary schools in Mississippi. This school's test scores are significantly higher than the district and state averages across all grade levels and subjects. For example, in 2024-2025, 90.5% of 5th graders at Laurel Magnet School were proficient or better in English Language Arts, compared to just 43.2% for the district and 55.9% statewide.

The other schools in the district, including Laurel High School, Nora Davis Elementary School, Oak Park Elementary School, Laurel Middle School, and Laurel Upper Elementary, struggle academically, often scoring 20-30 percentage points below state averages on standardized tests. Addressing chronic absenteeism, which is high across the district, and leveraging the success of the magnet school could be key focus areas for the Laurel School District moving forward.

District Detail

303 West 8th Street
Laurel, MS 39440

(601) 649-6391

SchoolDigger Rank:
81^st of 130 Mississippi districts

See the 2025 Mississippi District rankings!

Grades served: PK, KG-12
Students: 2,620

Primary Schools: 3
Middle Schools: 2
High Schools: 2
Alternative Schools: 1

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
Laurel Magnet School Of The Arts	Public, Magnet	PK, KG-6	1125 North 5th Avenue	Laurel	39440	Jones County	Laurel School District	No	Yes	No	Yes	(601) 428-7446	323	20	15.8	100.0%	12 (3.7%)	283 (87.6%)	13 (4.0%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (4.3%)	92	17^th of 383 public elementary schools	95.6%		97	3^rd of 390 public elementary schools	99.2%	14	60.5	86.0	90.5	78.0			71.1	90.7	88.1	95.1					78.5				$10,887
Oak Park Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-1	1205 Oak Park Avenue	Laurel	39440	Jones County	Laurel School District	No	No	No	Yes	(601) 428-5046	405	21	19.2	100.0%	5 (1.2%)	321 (79.3%)	63 (15.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (4.0%)								(n/a)																			$12,259
Laurel High School	Public	9-12	1100 W 12th Street	Laurel	39440	Jones County	Laurel School District	No	No	No	Yes	(601) 649-4145	732	43	17.2	99.9%	10 (1.4%)	574 (78.4%)	114 (15.6%)	1 (0.1%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	31 (4.2%)	34.1	152^nd of 232 public high schools	34.5%		16.9	196^th of 228 public high schools	14.0%	44													47.5	41.8			46.8	58.9	$12,153
Laurel Education Center	Public, Alternative	4-12	795 South 19th Avenue	Laurel	39440	Jones County	Laurel School District	No	No	No	No	(601) 649-5195	0	0	.0		0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Laurel High School Vocational Complex	Public	9-12	1100 W 11th Street	Laurel	39440	Jones County	Laurel School District	No	No	No	No	(601) 649-4144	0	0	.0		0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Laurel Middle School	Public	7-8	1600 Grandview Drive	Laurel	39440	Jones County	Laurel School District	No	No	No	Yes	(601) 428-5312	388	23	16.6	100.0%	9 (2.3%)	310 (79.9%)	54 (13.9%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (3.6%)	16.2	231^st of 266 public middle schools	13.2%		18	220^th of 264 public middle schools	16.7%	11					20.7	25.6					26.9	13.1				36.9			$12,990
Laurel Upper Elementary	Public	5-6	600 South 16th Avenue	Laurel	39440	Jones County	Laurel School District	No	No	No	Yes	(601) 649-8573	253	18	13.8	100.0%	3 (1.2%)	205 (81.0%)	40 (15.8%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.6%)								(n/a)			28.4	11.1					9.8	14.5					38.3				$12,974
Nora Davis Elementary	Public	2-4	1305 Martin Luther King Ave	Laurel	39440	Jones County	Laurel School District	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(601) 438-3140	519	36	14.6	100.0%	5 (1.0%)	423 (81.5%)	80 (15.4%)	2 (0.4%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (1.5%)	9.1	364^th of 383 public elementary schools	5.0%		9	372^nd of 390 public elementary schools	4.6%	8	12.6	19.5					21.1	36.2											$10,657

Districts nearby

District	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Jones County School District	2.43 mi	11	36^th
West Jasper School District	13.98 mi	4	41^st
East Jasper School District	15.62 mi	3	77^th
Wayne County School District	19.1 mi	8	78^th
Smith County School District	19.52 mi	10	54^th

See the top MS Mississippi districts

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.