Summary:
ZIP code 38761 is served by a single elementary-level school: Moorhead Central School, a K–8 campus located in Moorhead, Mississippi, within the Sunflower County Consolidated School District. The school enrolls 245 students and operates with a 13.4:1 student-teacher ratio, and every student qualifies for free or reduced lunch. It is a small, high-poverty school in a district ranked 98th out of 134 districts statewide, and the school itself sits in the bottom 10th percentile of Mississippi schools for 2025–2026. However, the data reveals a more nuanced picture than the overall rank suggests.
Moorhead Central School's greatest strengths are attendance and advanced math. Chronic absenteeism is just 11.5%, less than half the district rate of 24.4% and the state rate of 23.9%. In 2024–2025, 80% of 8th graders passed Algebra I, far exceeding the district's 52.1% and the state's 67.3%. More recently, 6th grade ELA reached 56.3% proficiency, above the state average of 48.0%, and 7th grade math climbed to 57.9%—essentially tied with the state's 57.7%. These upper-grade successes suggest that students who stay in the school can achieve at or above statewide levels.
The biggest concern is early-grade mathematics. In 2025–2026, only 4.5% of 3rd graders and 10% of 4th graders were proficient in math, compared to roughly 48% statewide. Overall subject averages remain well below district and state benchmarks in ELA, math, and science. Proficiency swings between years are large—7th grade math jumped from 6.7% to 57.9% in a single year—which likely reflects very small cohorts. Still, the school improved its average proficiency in every subject from 2024–2025 to 2025–2026. Combined with strong attendance and a successful Algebra I pathway, Moorhead Central School has a foundation to build on, but early math intervention will be essential.
Thank you for your feedback!