Best Public Schools in Zip Code 38637

Zip code 38637 (Horn Lake, MS) is served by 5 public schools in the DeSoto County School District, enrolling 4,076 students across a traditional feeder pattern: two PK–2 elementary schools (Horn Lake Elementary School and Shadow Oaks Elementary School) feed into Horn Lake Intermediate School (3–5), which feeds into Horn Lake Middle School (6–8), which feeds into Horn Lake High School (9–12). This is a high-poverty community, with roughly 74% of students qualifying for free/reduced lunch across all five schools.

Within this feeder pattern, Horn Lake Middle School is the standout performer, climbing from the 31st to the 40th percentile statewide and posting strong year-over-year gains in 8th grade ELA and math. Horn Lake High School excels at graduating students, with a 96.3% graduation rate that beats the state average, and its Algebra I proficiency actually exceeds the state average. However, Horn Lake Intermediate School is the weakest link, dropping from the 25th to the 12th percentile, holding a 1-star rating for three straight years, and seeing 3rd grade math proficiency nearly cut in half (30.2% to 16.3%).

Chronic absenteeism is a systemic concern: every school exceeds the state rate of 23.9%, with Horn Lake High School the highest at 39.4% and the zip code average near 34%. The two PK–2 elementary schools have no test scores or rankings, meaning the first academic snapshot parents get is at 3rd grade in the intermediate school — where math struggles are most pronounced. Despite the district ranking above average statewide, all three ranked schools in this zip code fall below the 50th percentile, making Horn Lake a relative weak spot within a generally strong district.