Hazlehurst High School

Hazlehurst High School serves roughly 385 students in grades 9-12 and is the only high school in the Hazlehurst City School District in Hazlehurst, MS. The student population faces significant economic hardship, with nearly all students eligible for free meals. After several years ranked in the bottom of the state, the school recently achieved a major milestone, jumping from the 9th percentile to the 40th percentile in Mississippi's statewide ranking. This outstanding improvement places Hazlehurst ahead of nearby Brookhaven High School, Terry High School, and Crystal Springs High School in the latest state comparison, making it the school's best performance in almost ten years.

The academic picture is a mix of impressive strengths and persistent weaknesses. Hazlehurst students excelled in Biology, achieving a 69.5% proficiency rate that beats the state average of 63.1% and outpaces Brookhaven High School and Crystal Springs High School. English II scores also saw a remarkable jump to 40.4%, surpassing Terry High School and Crystal Springs. However, Algebra I remains a major hurdle, with only 39.2% of students proficient compared to the statewide rate of 66%. U.S. History proficiency (38.6%) also lags far behind state averages. This split suggests that certain subject areas are improving rapidly, but core math and history skills still need urgent support.

The biggest challenges facing Hazlehurst High School are chronic absenteeism and low graduation rates. The chronic absenteeism rate sits at 56.9%, more than double the state average and significantly higher than nearby schools like Brookhaven High School and even Terry High School. As a result, the graduation rate of 77.3% remains far below the state average of 89.2% and below all neighboring high schools. Encouragingly, the school has made major strides in staffing, reducing the student-teacher ratio from 19.4 to 12.6. Sustaining this investment in teachers while aggressively tackling attendance issues will be essential to converting recent academic gains into lasting success for all students.