Summary:
Zip code 39202 in Jackson, Mississippi, is served by Jackson Public Schools and contains just three schools — Murrah High School (grades 9-12), Barack Obama Elementary School (grades K-5), and Wells APAC Elementary School (grades 4-5) — with a combined enrollment of roughly 1,541 students and no middle schools within the zip code.
The elementary schools are the clear standouts here. Barack Obama Elementary School is currently ranked #2 out of 377 elementary schools in Mississippi (99th percentile, 5 stars) and has climbed from 17th to 10th to 2nd over the past three years. Wells APAC Elementary School is also elite, ranked #14 in the state (96th percentile, 5 stars), with just 40 students and a remarkably low 6.4:1 student-teacher ratio. Despite both schools serving 100% free/reduced-price lunch populations, they dramatically outperform state averages: Barack Obama's 5th-grade science proficiency is 97.4% (state: 66.3%) and its math proficiency reaches 89.5% (state: 49.6%), while Wells APAC recorded 100% proficiency in 5th-grade science. Chronic absenteeism is also very low at both schools, at 5.4% and 8.8%, respectively, compared to the state average of 23.9%.
Murrah High School is the weak link in this zip code. It ranks in the bottom third of Mississippi high schools (26th percentile, 1 star) and trails state averages in Algebra I, English II, and Biology, though it does outperform the Jackson Public Schools district average in every subject and posts an 85.9% graduation rate. Its chronic absenteeism rate of 36.6% is a major concern. With no middle schools in 39202, students leaving these top-rated elementary schools likely transition to schools outside the zip code, which may help explain why the exceptional early academic foundation does not carry through to Murrah. This zip code is a story of extremes: two of Mississippi's very best elementary schools sitting alongside a struggling high school.
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