Elementary Schools in Lee County

Lee County Elementary Schools in Mississippi serve 2,992 students across six campuses spanning grades PK–2 through PK–5, within a mid-pack district ranked 66th of 134 districts statewide with a 3-star rating. The Lee County district sits at the 51st percentile, but individual schools vary enormously, from the 78th percentile at Mooreville Elementary School to the 8th percentile at Verona Elementary School. The two PK–2 primary schools—Saltillo Primary School and Shannon Primary School—have no test-based rankings, while the four campuses serving grades 3–5 all carry state rankings.

Mooreville Elementary School is the clear academic leader, earning 4 stars with every tested subject above both district and state averages, including an outstanding 90.3% fifth-grade science proficiency rate. Saltillo Elementary School is a steady improver, climbing from #203 to #154 over three years and upgrading from 2 to 3 stars, though fourth-grade math remains a weak spot at 39.2%. Shannon Elementary School surprises with 84% fifth-grade science proficiency—well above the state average of 71.5%—despite a modest 2-star overall rating, and it has the lowest chronic absenteeism in the group at 13.4%. Verona Elementary School needs the most support: a 0-star rating places it in the bottom 8% of Mississippi schools, with near-universal poverty (99.18% free/reduced lunch) and proficiency rates far below state averages in every category.

Poverty and performance are strongly linked across the district. The lower-poverty cluster of Mooreville and Saltillo Elementary schools (roughly 54–56% free/reduced lunch) enrolls about 71% of students and posts the top scores, while the higher-poverty cluster of Verona and Shannon (83–99% free/reduced lunch) trails sharply. Interestingly, higher-poverty schools actually have lower student–teacher ratios, so staffing alone is not overcoming socioeconomic challenges. On a positive note, every school beats the state average for chronic absenteeism, and science is a district-wide strength at all three grade 3–5 schools. With Saltillo and Shannon on the rise and Mooreville's math scores dipping slightly but remaining above state averages, the district's biggest challenge is closing the wide gap between its higher- and lower-poverty schools.