Summary:
Zip code 38701 (Greenville, MS) is served by two middle schools—T.L. Weston Middle School and Coleman Middle School—both part of the Greenville Public School District, serving grades 6–8 with 100% of students qualifying for free/reduced lunch. These schools face tough odds, but each has its own strengths and recent bright spots worth knowing about.
Overall, T.L. Weston is the steadier performer, with a higher average proficiency rate in 2025–2026 (27.6% vs. Coleman’s 26.1%) and stronger ELA and grade-level math scores. It also posted the best Algebra I result of the two at 75% proficiency, well above the state average of 67.3%. Coleman, on the other hand, is the clear improver: its overall proficiency jumped from 14.8% to 26.1% in one year, and it now outranks T.L. Weston statewide (231st vs. 236th). Coleman also leads in 8th grade science (46.7% proficient) and dramatically improved its 8th grade ELA from 19.3% to 32.2%. However, Coleman still has glaring weak spots, like 7th grade math at just 12% proficiency. T.L. Weston also struggles in 8th grade ELA (16.7%). Both schools remain in the bottom 11th percentile of Mississippi middle schools, so while these gains are real, they are starting from a low base.
One of the most striking findings is that both schools beat their district and even the state in Algebra I, despite low overall math proficiency—likely reflecting a small group of advanced students. Chronic absenteeism is a severe problem: 46.5% of T.L. Weston students and 40.7% at Coleman are chronically absent, nearly double the state average of 23.9%. Interestingly, Coleman has a much smaller student-teacher ratio (11.8) than T.L. Weston (16.3), yet it does not consistently outperform its larger-class-size rival, suggesting poverty and attendance are bigger factors than class size. For parents, the takeaway is that both schools serve highly disadvantaged populations with real academic challenges, but there are pockets of excellence—especially in advanced math and science—and Coleman’s recent momentum is worth watching.
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