Summary:
The Pascagoula-Gautier School District serves 1,888 middle school students across four schools, split between grades 5–6 (Trent Lott and Singing River) and grades 7–8 (William M Colmer Middle and Gautier Middle). The district holds a 4-star rating and ranks 35th of 134 districts statewide, with all four schools serving similar economic demographics around 71–73% free/reduced lunch.
Singing River leads the district with roughly 56.6% average proficiency across all MAAP tests, including standout results in 6th grade math (66%), 6th grade ELA (54.7%), and 5th grade science (66.8%). It also has the lowest chronic absenteeism rate at 20.9%. Among the 7–8 schools, Gautier Middle is the strongest, beating district averages in 7th grade ELA, 7th grade math, 8th grade math, and 8th grade science, though its 28.3% chronic absenteeism rate is the highest in the district. William M Colmer Middle trails the pack at 42.5% average proficiency, ranking at the 47th percentile statewide, but it did improve year over year. Trent Lott performs well in 5th grade ELA and science, but its overall average slipped to 49.3%, driven by a sharp drop in 5th grade math.
Math is the district's biggest concern. Both 5th grade schools dropped to 42.4% proficiency in 5th grade math—more than 7 points below the state—and William M Colmer Middle's 8th grade math sits at just 37.7%. Singing River's 66% in 6th grade math is the one bright spot. Chronic absenteeism also varies widely, from 20.9% at Singing River to 28.3% at Gautier Middle. On the positive side, all four schools have low student–teacher ratios between 10.0 and 11.0, a structural advantage that has not yet translated into above-average proficiency in most subjects.
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