Denman Junior High School

Denman Junior High School in McComb, Mississippi, serves 312 students in grades 7 and 8, drawing from one of the highest-poverty communities in the state, with 100% of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. The school belongs to the McComb School District, which ranks in the 28th percentile of Mississippi districts and holds a 1-star rating. Denman itself has historically landed in the lower half of the state's middle schools, though its most recent 2025–2026 ranking improved to the 35th percentile (2 stars), up from the 16th percentile (1 star) the prior year.

The most pressing challenge at Denman is chronic absenteeism: 43.5% of students were chronically absent in 2023–2024, nearly double the state average of 23.9% and above the district average of 38.6%. English Language Arts performance is also persistently weak, with 8th grade proficiency at 30.5% in 2025–2026 compared to 40.9% statewide, after falling to just 17.4% the year before. Math and science scores have been extremely volatile: 8th grade math proficiency swung from 53.3% to 9.9% and back to 47.6% over three years, while 8th grade science followed a similar pattern. The student-teacher ratio also rose to 14.2 in 2024–2025 from 10.4 the previous year, suggesting larger class sizes or reduced staffing.

Compared with nearby schools, Denman outperformed South Pike Junior High — also a 100% poverty school — in every subject in 2025–2026, including a 17-point advantage in 8th grade science. However, it trails North Pike Junior High, a lower-poverty school about 8 miles away, by double digits in 8th grade ELA and math. Denman also receives students from Higgins Middle School, which feeds into Denman and reports a 36% chronic absenteeism rate of its own. The recent rebounds in math and science, along with the school's best ranking in years, are encouraging, but without sustained gains in attendance and literacy, Denman may continue to alternate between 1-star and 2-star ratings.