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Smilow Prep

Public, Charter Grades 5-8

228^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 266 Mississippi Middle Schools

Better than 14% of Mississippi middle schools

Summary

Joel E. Smilow Prep is a public charter middle school serving 564 students in grades 5-8 in Jackson, Mississippi. The school has consistently ranked in the bottom half of Mississippi middle schools over the past several years, with a 0-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Joel E. Smilow Prep faces significant challenges in providing a high-quality education to its students. The school has consistently high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 23.6% to 26.0%, which is significantly higher than the state average. Additionally, the school's test scores are well below the state averages across all grade levels and subjects, with only 37.8% of 5th graders proficient or better in ELA, compared to the state average of 55.9%. In math, the proficiency rates ranged from 17.9% to 30.8%, again well below the state averages. The school also serves a high-poverty student population, with 100% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch.

Interestingly, the nearby Reimagine Prep, another public charter middle school, faces similar performance challenges. However, the traditional public middle schools in the area, such as Peeples Middle School, Blackburn Middle School, and Powell Middle School, generally have higher test scores and lower chronic absenteeism rates, despite serving similar high-poverty student populations. The outlier is Bailey Middle Apac School, a public magnet school within the Jackson Public School District, which stands out as a high-performing school with much higher test scores and lower chronic absenteeism compared to Joel E. Smilow Prep and other nearby schools.

521

Students ?

20.0

Student/teacher ratio ?

$12,327

Per pupil spending ?

99.8%

Free/discounted lunch ?

787 E Northside Dr.
Jackson, MS 39206

(769) 524-5330

District: Joel E. Smilow Prep

Racial breakdown:

African American:

98.8%

Two or more races:

0.6%

Hispanic:

0.4%

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At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 23rd percentile in 2019 → 14th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Mississippi average (29% vs 51% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (14th percentile)

!Ranking has slipped — down 9 percentile points since 2019

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school29%

District avg29%

Mississippi avg51%

228^th of 266

Mississippi public middle schools ?

Bottom 14%▼ down 8 pts since 2019

From bottom 23% (2019) to bottom 14% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Mississippi Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

120^th of 130Joel E. Smilow Prep among Mississippi districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Mississippi percentile	Rating
2025	16.5	228 of 266	14.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	24.8	197 of 264	25.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	18.2	208 of 243	14.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	26.7	182 of 257	29.2%	★★☆☆☆
2021	11.5	233 of 257	9.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	23.2	204 of 264	22.7%	★☆☆☆☆

By subject vs Mississippi (2024-2025) ?

Science45%-15 vs state

Mathematics26%-25 vs state

English Language Arts26%-19 vs state

5.0

1 rating · 1 written review

5★1

4★0

3★0

2★0

1★0

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What people are saying

by a parent
Wednesday, August 7, 2019

Excellent leadership and values that every teaching institution should embrace.
I can't say enough about the culture and the school spirit. I will sum this up with two words "They Care". Close Quote

Schools Near Smilow Prep

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				MAAP English Language Arts (2025)					MAAP Mathematics (2025)					MAAP Algebra I (2025)	MAAP Science (2025)		Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	MAAP English Language Arts 4th Grade	MAAP English Language Arts 5th Grade	MAAP English Language Arts 6th Grade	MAAP English Language Arts 7th Grade	MAAP English Language Arts 8th Grade	MAAP Mathematics 4th Grade	MAAP Mathematics 5th Grade	MAAP Mathematics 6th Grade	MAAP Mathematics 7th Grade	MAAP Mathematics 8th Grade	MAAP Algebra I End of Course	MAAP Science 5th Grade	MAAP Science 8th Grade	Total
Smilow Prep	Public, Charter	5-8	787 E Northside Dr.	Jackson	39206	Hinds County	Joel E. Smilow Prep	Yes	No	No	Yes	(769) 524-5330	521	26	20.0	99.8%	1 (0.2%)	515 (98.8%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.6%)	16.5	228^th of 266 public middle schools	14.3%		24.8	197^th of 264 public middle schools	25.4%	31		37.8	27.1	19.4	22.9		26.4	30.8	17.9	28.9		60.5	34.3	$12,327
Midtown Public Charter School	Public, Charter	PK, KG-8	4795 Interstate 55 North Front	Jackson	39206	Hinds County	Midtown Public Charter School	Yes	No	No	No	(601) 354-7770	420	31	13.5	100.0%	2 (0.5%)	402 (95.7%)	11 (2.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (1.2%)	16.7	226^th of 266 public middle schools	15.0%		14.5	237^th of 264 public middle schools	10.2%	11	50.0	42.4	13.7	13.7	19.0	40.0	33.9	25.5	42.4	19.0		35.6	41.9	$12,067
Kirksey Middle School	Public	6-8	5677 Highland Drive	Jackson	39206	Hinds County	Jackson Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(601) 987-8360	389	30	12.7	100.0%	8 (2.1%)	340 (87.4%)	33 (8.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (2.1%)	15.6	233^rd of 266 public middle schools	12.4%		27.2	190^th of 264 public middle schools	28.0%	43			19.7	17.7	22.0			28.6	22.0	28.9	96.3		37.2	$17,184
Powell Middle School	Public	6-8	3655 Livingston Road	Jackson	39213	Hinds County	Jackson Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(601) 987-3580	704	56	12.5	99.6%	6 (0.9%)	685 (97.3%)	12 (1.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	4.9	259^th of 266 public middle schools	2.6%		3.6	262^nd of 264 public middle schools	0.8%	3			16.8	10.9	15.4			13.6	9.6	5.4			20.3	$16,140
Blackburn Middle School	Public	6-8	1311 W Pearl St	Jackson	39203	Hinds County	Jackson Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(601) 960-5329	317	43	7.3	99.7%	2 (0.6%)	310 (97.8%)	3 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.6%)	4.6	260^th of 266 public middle schools	2.3%		4.1	261^st of 264 public middle schools	1.1%	1			12.2	12.0	12.1			15.0	15.4	8.3			15.1	$16,571
Old Town Middle School	Public	6-8	210 Sunnybrook Road	Ridgeland	39157	Madison County	Madison County Schools	No	No	No	No	(601) 898-8730	693	58	11.8	75.6%	53 (7.6%)	435 (62.8%)	169 (24.4%)	25 (3.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (1.6%)								(n/a)														$13,231
Northwest Middle School	Public	6-8	7020 Highway 49 North	Jackson	39213	Hinds County	Jackson Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(601) 987-3609	242	23	10.3	100.0%	2 (0.8%)	231 (95.5%)	8 (3.3%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	83.7	28^th of 266 public middle schools	89.5%		89.3	20^th of 264 public middle schools	92.4%	8			60.8	59.7	78.9			47.8	75.0	67.6	100.0		78.8	$19,264
Bailey APAC Middle School	Public	6-8	7020 US 49 North	Jackson	39213	Hinds County	Jackson Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(601) 987-3609	318	28	11.4	99.1%	23 (7.2%)	288 (90.6%)	4 (1.3%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.6%)	86.5	22^nd of 266 public middle schools	91.7%		89	23^rd of 264 public middle schools	91.3%	1			58.7	57.8	63.3			68.6	87.3	63.3	90.0		63.3	$15,604
Pearl Junior High School	Public	6-8	200 Mary Ann Drive	Pearl	39208	Rankin County	Pearl Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(601) 932-7952	944	72	13.0	70.9%	408 (43.2%)	381 (40.4%)	114 (12.1%)	7 (0.7%)	1 (0.1%)	2 (0.2%)	31 (3.3%)	57.7	115^th of 266 public middle schools	56.8%		50.5	130^th of 264 public middle schools	50.8%	15			39.5	39.6	47.6			52.5	49.5	58.9	97.7		50.3	$9,812
Reimagine Prep	Public, Charter	5-8	309 W. McDowell Rd.	Jackson	39204	Hinds County	Reimagine Prep	Yes	No	No	Yes	(601) 941-0844	457	21	21.7	100.0%	5 (1.1%)	443 (96.9%)	4 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (1.1%)	9.8	248^th of 266 public middle schools	6.8%		23.9	203^rd of 264 public middle schools	23.1%	45		34.8	23.1	13.1	23.4		4.4	8.5	20.5	13.8		30.4	30.1	$12,878

Frequently Asked Questions about Smilow Prep

What is the racial makeup of Smilow Prep?

Students at Smilow Prep are 99% African American.

What district is Smilow Prep in?

Joel E. Smilow Prep

Is Smilow Prep a good school?

Smilow Prep ranks in the bottom 14.3% of Mississippi middle schools.

How many students attend Smilow Prep?

In the 2024-25 school year, 521 students attended Smilow Prep.

Rate Smilow Prep!

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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Mississippi Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.