Summary:
Philadelphia Public School District in Philadelphia, MS, serves about 757 students across two schools – Philadelphia Elementary School (PK–6) and Philadelphia High School (7–12) – in a small, largely low-income community. Both schools report 100% free/reduced-price lunch eligibility, and the district as a whole ranks in the bottom quarter of Mississippi districts, earning 1 star.
Philadelphia Elementary is the clear academic leader. It ranks at the 28th percentile statewide versus the high school's 9th percentile. The elementary school is the only campus in the district with science proficiency above the state average, with 5th-grade science at 75.5% in 2025–2026 compared to 71.5% statewide. It also improved 5th-grade ELA from 37.1% to 49.0% year over year. Still, most elementary math and ELA scores trail the state, and chronic absenteeism sits at 21.4%, slightly below the state's 23.9%.
Philadelphia High School has one outstanding bright spot: 7th-grade math proficiency surged to 65.8% in 2025–2026, well above the state's 57.7%. However, that success does not carry into 8th grade, where math proficiency collapses to 26.5% versus 51.4% statewide. The high school also lags in Algebra I, English II, and Biology EOCs, and its graduation rate of 82.4% trails the state's 89.2%. Chronic absenteeism is 22.4%, below the state average. Overall, the district's biggest challenge is the sharp academic drop between 7th and 8th grade, especially in math, making the transition a critical focus for parents and educators.
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