Newton Elementary School

Newton Elementary School in Newton, MS, serves 367 students in grades PK–5 and is part of the Newton Municipal School District, which is rated 1 star and ranks 105 out of 134 districts statewide. The school itself ranks 330 out of 377 Mississippi elementary schools for 2025-2026, placing it at the 12th percentile, and it has been a 1-star school for several consecutive years. Academic proficiency is well below state averages in nearly every subject and grade: for example, only 32% of 3rd graders are proficient in ELA (state average: 48.5%), and 3rd grade math proficiency sits at 24% versus the state's 48.8%.

Newton is the lowest-performing elementary school among its nearby comparators, and the gaps are stark. Newton County Elementary, just 9.7 miles away, posts 3rd grade ELA proficiency of 85.5% and 3rd grade math of 81.0%, compared to Newton's 32.0% and 24.0%. Both Lake Elementary and Union Elementary have near-universal free/reduced lunch eligibility (99%+) yet achieve proficiency rates two to three times higher than Newton's. Notably, poverty alone doesn't explain the gap: Newton's free/reduced lunch rate is 75.2%, lower than several higher-performing nearby schools. One genuine bright spot is attendance — Newton's chronic absenteeism rate is just 7.0%, far below the state average of 23.9% and lower than every comparable school in the area.

Newton hasn't always been at the bottom. In 2017-2018, it ranked in the 44th percentile with a 2-star rating, so its decline over the past several years is not necessarily a permanent condition. There are a few relative bright spots: 5th grade math improved from 29.7% to 41.3% in 2025-2026, approaching the state average of 49.6%. Because attendance is already strong, the factors holding Newton back likely lie inside the classroom — such as instructional quality, curriculum alignment, or teacher turnover — rather than in student attendance. Nearby schools in the same rural region demonstrate that high performance is achievable, making Newton's low scores a school-specific challenge that parents will want to explore carefully when considering this school.