Best Elementary Schools in Zip Code 39095

There is just one elementary school in zip code 39095: William Dean Junior Elementary School, which serves grades PK through 5 in Lexington, Mississippi, and is part of the Holmes County Consolidated school district. With 426 students and a student-teacher ratio of 17.7 to 1, every single student at this school qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, and the school serves a 100% economically disadvantaged population. The school’s chronic absenteeism rate is 30.3%, which is notably higher than the statewide rate of 23.9% and close to the district’s 30.9%.

In the most recent 2025-2026 school year, William Dean Junior Elementary School ranked 353rd out of 377 elementary schools in Mississippi, placing it in the 6th percentile with a 0-star rating. This continues a downward trend from the 2023-2024 school year, when it ranked 331st out of 390 schools with a 1-star rating. Test scores show the school trailing state averages by wide margins: 3rd grade ELA proficiency was 26.6% versus 48.5% statewide, and 3rd grade math proficiency was just 17.7% compared to the state’s 48.8%. The school did beat its district in 3rd grade ELA, and in 2024-2025 it outperformed the district in 5th grade math by more than 15 percentage points, but it did not surpass the state in any subject or grade.

Science stands out as a relative strength, with 45% of 5th graders proficient in 2025-2026, well above the school’s own ELA and math scores. However, grade-level performance swings dramatically from year to year — 3rd grade math fell from 42.7% proficiency to 17.7% in one year, while 4th grade math jumped from 14.6% to 35.2%. For parents, the big picture is that this school faces serious challenges around poverty, absenteeism, and test-score volatility. The school is capable of beating district averages in isolated subjects, but overall it is losing ground to other elementary schools in Mississippi. Parents considering this school should look carefully at the specific grade-level programs and ask what steps are being taken to address chronic absenteeism and stabilize math and reading instruction.