Summary:
Zip code 39120 in Natchez, Mississippi, is home to three elementary schools serving roughly 1,178 students from Pre-K through 4th grade: McLaurin Elementary, West Elementary School, and Instant Impact Global Prep. Two of these schools belong to the Natchez-Adams School District, while Instant Impact Global Prep operates as its own standalone district. All three schools serve overwhelmingly low-income populations, with free/reduced lunch rates between 98% and 100%. No school in this list serves 5th grade, so students move on to a separate school after 4th grade.
McLaurin Elementary is the strongest performer in the zip code, with 4th grade math proficiency at 45.2% — far ahead of Instant Impact Global Prep's 4.3% — and the lowest chronic absenteeism rate at 17.7%. Even so, McLaurin ranks only at the 25th percentile statewide and has declined from the 45th percentile since 2018. West Elementary School, serving PK-1, has no test data but ranks at the 12th percentile and posted an 18.3% chronic absenteeism rate. Instant Impact Global Prep is the most alarming school in the area: it ranks in the 2nd percentile statewide with a 0-star rating, and its 4th grade math proficiency sits nearly 47 points below the state average.
The most striking takeaway is that poverty levels are nearly identical across all three schools, yet outcomes diverge dramatically. Instant Impact Global Prep's chronic absenteeism rate of 37.4% is more than double that of McLaurin and West, and its math scores have remained in single digits for multiple years. Meanwhile, the Natchez-Adams School District ranks at the 30th percentile compared to Instant Impact Global Prep's 1st percentile. No school in this zip code is showing upward momentum, and all trail state averages in tested subjects. The district-run schools — particularly McLaurin — clearly outperform Instant Impact Global Prep, though even the best local option sits below the state median.
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