South Delta School District

South Delta School District is a small, rural Mississippi district serving 548 students across three schools: South Delta Elementary School (grades PK–5, 234 students), South Delta Middle School (grades 6–8, 138 students), and South Delta High School (grades 9–12, 176 students). The district overall ranks in the bottom 13 percent of Mississippi districts with a 1-star rating, and all three schools serve overwhelmingly high-poverty populations, with 98 to 100 percent of students eligible for free or reduced lunch. However, individual school data reveals a more complex story with genuine bright spots.

South Delta Middle School is the district’s strongest school, earning 2 stars and ranking in the 32nd percentile of Mississippi middle schools — a meaningful improvement from the 24th percentile in prior years. Its standout subject is mathematics: 7th grade math proficiency is 64.7%, above the state average, and 8th grade math exactly matches the state average at 51.4%. South Delta Elementary School is the district’s most improved school, climbing from the 9th–10th percentile to the 20th percentile. Fifth grade ELA proficiency jumped from 25.9% to 50%, and 5th grade science rose to 63.4%, closing much of the gap to the state average. While the elementary school still trails state averages in most subjects, the upward trend is unmistakable and could lead to a 2-star rating soon.

South Delta High School presents the district’s most mixed picture. It boasts a graduation rate of 94.6%, well above the state average of 89.2%, which is a notable achievement given the school’s challenges. However, it ranks in the bottom 1% of Mississippi high schools, and nearly half of its students (49.7%) are chronically absent — more than double the state rate. End-of-course proficiency is very low, with Algebra I collapsing from 53.5% to 14.3% and Biology falling from 53.3% to 30.6% in the past year. The high school also has the district’s lowest student-teacher ratio at 8:1, showing that small class sizes alone do not drive achievement. The most urgent priorities for the district are addressing high school absenteeism, protecting the middle school’s math gains, and sustaining the elementary school’s momentum.