Franklin Lower Elementary

Franklin Lower Elementary is a small, rural PK–3 school in Meadville, Mississippi, serving 379 students within the Franklin County School District, where roughly 78% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. There are no other schools within 20 miles, so the most meaningful comparisons are to the district and state as a whole.

This school stands out for its strong attendance and early-grade academics. In 2023–24, its chronic absenteeism rate was 16.1% — noticeably better than the district's 21.4% and the state's 23.9% — and this pattern has held for years. Third graders also punch above their weight: in 2024–25, 63% were proficient in English Language Arts versus 49.4% statewide, and 71.4% were proficient in math versus 53.3% statewide. Even in 2025–26, when scores dipped sharply, both subjects remained slightly above state averages. Given that the Franklin County School District is rated just 2 stars, Franklin Lower Elementary's 40th-percentile state ranking makes it a bright spot in a mid-to-low-performing district.

That said, there are reasons to keep an eye on this school. Third-grade proficiency has fallen recently — ELA dropped from 68.5% in 2022–23 to 51.5% in 2025–26, and math fell from roughly 71% to 52.3% — which could reflect changing cohorts or staffing. The student–teacher ratio also jumped from 12.0 to 15.1 in a single year. One important note: the school's profile includes 4th–6th grade test scores that exactly mirror district-level results, and those upper grades show clear declines (6th grade math at 26.5% proficiency, for example). Those figures are district-level data, not Franklin Lower Elementary's own students. Overall, this is a solid early-elementary school serving a high-poverty population, with strong attendance and competitive 3rd grade scores — but the recent downward trend in test results is worth monitoring closely.