Leake County School District

The Leake County School District in central Mississippi serves about 2,408 students across five schools: two elementary schools (PK–5 and PK–6), one junior high (6–8), and two high schools (7–12 and 9–12) in Carthage and Walnut Grove. The district is high-poverty (nearly 100% free/reduced lunch) and ranks in the bottom 15% of Mississippi districts, but performance varies widely by school and grade level.

The clear standout is Leake County Elementary School, the only 2-star school in the district. Its 3rd graders beat state averages in both ELA (61% vs. 48.5%) and math (65.9% vs. 48.8%), and it improved dramatically year over year. In contrast, Leake Central Elementary School also improved but remains far behind, with 3rd grade math at 37.9% and a troubling 4th grade math rate of just 16.3%. At the secondary level, Leake County High School posts a strong 93.8% graduation rate (above the state's 89.2%) and a district-best 46.5% Biology proficiency, while Leake Central High School struggles with a 79.0% graduation rate, 35.7% chronic absenteeism, and very low end-of-course scores. Leake Central Junior High School had a perfect 100% Algebra I cohort result, though this likely reflects a small accelerated group.

Two patterns stand out. First, chronic absenteeism is severe at the secondary level (32–36% at both high schools), while Leake Central Elementary keeps it at just 14.8%. Second, there is a notable 4th grade math slump at both elementary schools, and Algebra I proficiency is highly volatile across the district — for example, Leake County High dropped from 81.9% to 43.7% in one year. Overall, this district is not uniformly low-performing: early elementary shows promise, one high school graduates students well, and science is a relative strength. The biggest opportunities for improvement are reducing secondary absenteeism, stabilizing math instruction across grade transitions, and learning from the bright spots at Leake County Elementary and Leake County High.