Summary:
ZIP code 38879 (Verona, MS) is served by a single public school, Verona Elementary School, which enrolls 364 students in grades PK through 4 and operates within the Lee County district (ranked 66th out of 134 districts in Mississippi).
Because there is only one school, comparisons within the ZIP code are not possible, but Verona Elementary does stand out in several ways. It serves an almost universally high-poverty student body, with 99.18% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, yet it maintains a favorable student-teacher ratio of 12.3. Its chronic absenteeism rate of 21.4% is better than both the Lee County average (26.2%) and the state average (23.9%). However, academic proficiency is far below district and state averages in every subject and grade. For example, only 18.8% of 3rd graders were proficient in math in 2025–2026, compared to 48.9% districtwide and 48.8% statewide. Even the strongest area, 4th grade math at 30.4% proficient, trails the state average by more than 21 points.
The school's state ranking has improved slowly, from 383rd out of 390 (2nd percentile) in 2023–2024 to 348th out of 377 (8th percentile) in 2025–2026, though it remains in the bottom 10% of Mississippi elementary schools. Year-over-year trends are mixed: 4th grade ELA and math improved by 6.9 and 8.2 percentage points respectively, while 3rd grade ELA declined by 3.8 points and 3rd grade math dropped sharply by 15.4 points. With no middle or high schools in ZIP 38879, families should note that students must leave Verona for upper-grade schooling. In short, Verona Elementary is a high-poverty early-elementary school with real structural assets, but it faces significant academic challenges.
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