Summary:
The Leake County School District in Mississippi is home to two public high schools — Leake Central High School in Carthage (grades 9–12, 592 students) and Leake County High School in Walnut Grove (grades 7–12, 266 students) — serving a rural east-central Mississippi community. The district overall ranks 114th out of 134 Mississippi districts, placing it in the 15th percentile with a 1-star rating. Both schools carry just 1-star ratings in 2025–26, but the similarities end there.
Leake County High School is the clear standout. Despite 99.62% of students qualifying for free/reduced lunch, it posted a 93.8% graduation rate — well above the district's 82.1% and the state's 89.2%. In 2024–25, Leake County outperformed Leake Central in all four shared End-of-Course subjects: Algebra I (81.9% vs. 45.0%), Biology (50.9% vs. 17.3%), English II (44.4% vs. 31.1%), and U.S. History (63.6% vs. 45.4%). Its lower student-teacher ratio (11.8 vs. 15.8) and smaller size may support that success. Meanwhile, Leake Central High School faces significant challenges: 100% student poverty, 35.7% chronic absenteeism, and a 79.0% graduation rate — the lowest in the district and more than 10 points below the state.
Chronic absenteeism is a district-wide concern, with both schools above 32% compared to the state's 23.9%. Leake County High School's performance also fluctuates; it surged to 129th of 232 schools (2 stars) in 2024–25 before falling back to 188th of 224 in 2025–26 — a reminder that small cohorts can drive large swings. Notably, Leake County's high school EOC scores are much stronger than its own 7th and 8th grade scores, pointing to effective high-school instruction. For parents, the picture is clear: Leake County High School is the stronger academic choice in this district, while Leake Central High School requires urgent attention around attendance, graduation, and core proficiency.
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