Crystal Springs High School

Crystal Springs High School is a small public high school in Crystal Springs, MS, serving 397 students in grades 9–12 as part of the Copiah County School District, a solid mid-tier district in Mississippi. Nearly every student at the school qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting a deeply economically disadvantaged community. The school itself currently ranks in the bottom quarter of Mississippi high schools, but it has shown remarkable improvement over the past decade, climbing from near the very bottom of the state's rankings in 2015–2016 to its current position in 2025–2026.

Academically, the school's clearest strength is Algebra I, where 56.5% of students are proficient — close to the state average of 66% and competitive with more affluent Rankin County schools like Richland High School (49.5%) and Florence High School (58.1%). English II (35.8% vs. 49.3% statewide), Biology (45.2% vs. 63.1%), and U.S. History (45.2% vs. 69.7%) lag substantially behind. Its closest comparable neighbor, Hazlehurst High School, outperforms Crystal Springs in Biology and English II but trails significantly in Algebra I (39.2%) — a sign that these neighboring schools have very different academic profiles.

Where Crystal Springs stands out most is in getting students to graduation. Its 88.8% graduation rate nearly matches the state average of 89.2% and is the highest among similarly high-poverty peers, including Forest Hill High School (85.4%), Raymond High School (80.3%), Terry High School (84.6%), and Hazlehurst (77.3%). Chronic absenteeism, though still high at 35.2%, has improved from 42.9% and is far lower than Hazlehurst's 56.9%. The school's next challenge is clear: students are graduating at near-state rates, yet many lack strong academic mastery in core subjects. Continued gains in attendance and retention suggest test scores may follow, but the school still has meaningful ground to cover to match its district, let alone the state.