Greenwood Middle School

Greenwood Middle School serves 278 students in grades 7–8 in Greenwood, Mississippi, and is part of the Greenwood-Leflore Consolidated School District, which ranks near the bottom of Mississippi districts. Like its neighbors, the school serves a universally high-poverty student body, with 100% of students eligible for free or reduced lunch. Greenwood's state ranking has fallen sharply from the 31st percentile in 2022–2023 to the 7th percentile in 2025–2026. Chronic absenteeism is a major concern: 35.2% of students were chronically absent in 2023–2024, more than double the rates at nearby middle schools and well above the state average of 23.9%.

Compared with nearby schools, Greenwood shows a mixed picture. It clearly outperforms Amanda Elzy Junior High, its same-district counterpart, by wide margins in every subject — for example, 25.6% vs. 9.3% proficient in 7th grade math, and 31.2% vs. 22.5% in 8th grade science. However, it trails Leflore Legacy Academy, located just 0.6 miles away, in most areas, including 8th grade reading (17.3% vs. 29.4%) and 8th grade science (39.0% vs. 50.7%). Greenwood also has the highest student-teacher ratio (14.6) and the largest enrollment of the three schools. The most urgent differentiator remains attendance: Greenwood's chronic absenteeism rate of 35.2% dwarfs Amanda Elzy's 14.4% and Leflore Legacy's 17.6%, even though all three schools serve similarly high-poverty populations.

There are encouraging signs. In 2022–2023, Greenwood ranked in the 31st percentile and reported a perfect 100% proficiency rate on the Algebra I exam. More recently, 2025–2026 results show gains from the prior year in several subjects, including 7th grade math (35.8% vs. 25.6%) and 7th grade reading (21.7% vs. 11.6%). However, scores remain highly inconsistent from year to year. For parents, the clearest takeaway is this: tackling chronic absenteeism could be the single most powerful lever for raising academic outcomes at Greenwood Middle School.