Leake Central High School

Leake Central High School is a public high school in Carthage, MS, serving 592 students in grades 9–12 and operating as part of the Leake County School District, one of the lower-ranked districts in Mississippi with a 1-star rating. The school serves an almost entirely economically disadvantaged student body, with 100% of students eligible for free/reduced lunch over the past three years. Academically, Leake Central has consistently ranked near the bottom of Mississippi high schools, placing 201st out of 224 schools in the 2025–2026 ranking cycle, which puts it in the 10th percentile statewide.

Leake Central's chronic absenteeism is one of the most pressing issues. In 2023–2024, 35.7% of students were chronically absent, compared to 23.8% statewide—and in 2022–2023 the rate reached 51.7%. The graduation rate also fell sharply, from 87.7% in 2023–2024 to 79.0% in 2024–2025, well below the state average of 89.2%. End-of-course test scores lag far behind the state, especially in Algebra I (37.5% proficiency vs. 66.0% statewide) and Biology (29.2% vs. 63.1%). Biology has been a particular concern, dropping from 54.2% in 2022–2023 to a startling 17.3% in 2024–2025 before partially recovering.

The most telling benchmark may be the comparison with Leake County High School, the other high school in the same district serving a nearly identical student population. Leake County High posted a 93.8% graduation rate in 2024–2025 and beat Leake Central in both Algebra I and Biology proficiency in 2025–2026. This gap suggests that poverty alone does not explain the school's performance. On a more positive note, the school's English II proficiency was the district's best in 2025–2026 (38.2% vs. 37.1% district average) and topped nearby Velma Jackson High School (30.8%). Still, a higher student-to-teacher ratio (15.8) than nearby schools and persistently high absenteeism remain serious obstacles that targeted attendance and instructional improvements could begin to address.