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Lawrence County School District

At a glance

71^stof 133 Mississippi districts▲ 4

Better than 46% of Mississippi districts

Elementary 3 Middle 1 High 2Grades PK, KG-12

346 Thomas E. Jolly Drive
Monticello, MS 39654-9301·(601) 587-2221·All Mississippi district rankings →

Statewide performance 2018–2026

2026: better than 46.6% of districts

Schools

1,674

Students

Top rankedTopeka - Tilton School101^st of 377 Mississippi elementary schools

▲

Biggest riser

Topeka - Tilton School up 61 spots statewide this year

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Smallest classes

Rod Paige Middle School 9.8 students per teacher

SchoolDigger ratings

4★

3★

2★

1★

0★

1 school without a SchoolDigger rating (too few tested students)

Compare Mississippi districts →See the top-ranked Mississippi schools →

Summary:

Lawrence County School District is a rural Mississippi district serving 1,674 students across five schools — one high school, one stand-alone middle school, and three elementary buildings (two serving grades K-8) — with a 2-star overall rating masking a dramatic range from 0 to 4 stars. The standout is Topeka - Tilton School, a high-poverty K-8 school where 80% of students qualify for free/reduced lunch yet 3rd and 4th graders exceed state proficiency by 15-20 points in ELA and math. It jumped from the 42nd to the 73rd percentile in three years and now earns 4 stars. Rod Paige Middle School is the district's most consistent secondary school, ranking in the 64th percentile three years running, with 8th grade math (66.7%) and science (72.1%) well above state averages.

New Hebron School, the district's poorest school at 96.9% free/reduced lunch, has the lowest chronic absenteeism rate at just 12.4% — far better than the district's 30.4% — and has improved its state ranking three straight years, with a standout 70.9% 6th grade math score. The two most concerning schools are Monticello Elementary and Lawrence County High School. Monticello is the district's only 0-star school, ranking in the bottom 7% of elementary schools, with only 11.7% of 3rd graders proficient in math versus 48.8% statewide. Lawrence County High ranks in the 19th percentile, has an 81.2% graduation rate, and nearly half of its students are chronically absent.

Two patterns stand out. Both K-8 schools show a dramatic "middle-grade cliff": Topeka-Tilton and New Hebron post solid scores in grades 3-6, then collapse to 7-9% proficiency in 8th grade math. Absenteeism is also a major secondary-level problem: Rod Paige Middle (35.1%) and Lawrence County High (46.5%) far exceed the state's 23.9% rate, while New Hebron's 12.4% shows what is possible. Notably, poverty alone does not explain outcomes — the highest-poverty schools are actually the district's best performers. For parents, Topeka-Tilton offers the strongest elementary program, Rod Paige is the best middle-grades option, and Monticello and the high school need the most urgent improvement.

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				MAAP English Language Arts (2026)						MAAP Mathematics (2026)						MAAP Algebra I (2026)	MAAP English II (2026)	MAAP Science (2026)		MAAP Biology (2026)	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 (2025)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	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	Total
Rod Paige Middle School	Public	6-8	1570 Broad St. West	Monticello	39654	Lawrence County	Lawrence County School District	No	No	No	Yes	(601) 587-2128	191	19	9.8	82.2%	79 (41.4%)	90 (47.1%)	15 (7.9%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (3.1%)	61	93^rd of 263 public middle schools	64.6%		64.3	95^th of 266 public middle schools	64.3%	2				40.8	37.0	43.5				26.4	57.8	66.7				72.1		$16,179
Monticello Elementary	Public	K-5	957 W McPherson Drive	Monticello	39654	Lawrence County	Lawrence County School District	No	No	No	Yes	(601) 587-7609	397	32	12.3	76.3%	174 (43.8%)	190 (47.9%)	17 (4.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	15 (3.8%)	11.6	349^th of 377 public elementary schools	7.4%		13.5	352^nd of 383 public elementary schools	8.1%	3	33.4	29.8	34.0				11.7	25.5	22.0						48.0			$12,020
Lawrence County High School	Public	9-12	713 Thomas Jolly Street	Monticello	39654	Lawrence County	Lawrence County School District	No	No	No	Yes	(601) 587-4910	529	44	11.9	66.7%	259 (49.0%)	231 (43.7%)	15 (2.8%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	21 (4.0%)	20.2	182^nd of 224 public high schools	18.8%		25.5	168^th of 232 public high schools	27.6%	14													50.0	35.9			42.2	$14,038
New Hebron School	Public	K-8	120 Golden Bear Lane	Newhebron	39140	Lawrence County	Lawrence County School District	No	No	No	Yes	(601) 694-2151	259	24	10.6	96.9%	87 (33.6%)	159 (61.4%)	3 (1.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (3.9%)	47.9	196^th of 377 public elementary schools	48.0%		42.7	222^nd of 383 public elementary schools	42.0%	26	52.0	53.9	39.1	58.3	23.1	18.7	48.0	42.3	30.4	70.9	38.4	9.4			47.8	28.2		$14,466
Topeka - Tilton School	Public	K-8	853 Highway 27 South	Monticello	39654	Lawrence County	Lawrence County School District	No	No	No	Yes	(601) 587-2367	298	24	12.4	80.2%	245 (82.2%)	39 (13.1%)	7 (2.3%)	2 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (1.7%)	71.7	101^st of 377 public elementary schools	73.2%		58.3	162^nd of 383 public elementary schools	57.7%	61	67.9	71.0	47.2	67.8	27.5	14.3	64.3	70.9	50.0	60.8	52.5	7.1			72.2	32.1		$13,563
Lawrence County Technical & Career Center	Public	8-12	686 Smith Lane	Monticello	39654	Lawrence County	Lawrence County School District	No	No	No	Yes	(601) 587-9346	0	0	.0		0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)

Districts nearby

District	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Jeff Davis County School District	15.32 mi	5	87^th
Lincoln County School District	16.57 mi	4
Brookhaven School District	18.06 mi	7	69^th
Copiah County School District	18.53 mi	4	56^th
Mississippi School Of The Arts	19.13 mi	1

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.