Best Elementary Schools in Zip Code 39206

Zip code 39206 in Jackson, Mississippi, is served by five elementary schools—Smilow Collegiate, Boyd Elementary, McWillie Elementary, Green Elementary, and North Jackson Elementary—that collectively enroll about 2,096 students in grades PK/K through 5. Four of the five belong to Jackson Public Schools, while Smilow Collegiate operates as its own single-school district, Joel E. Smilow Collegiate, and every school reports 100% free/reduced lunch eligibility, reflecting a highly economically disadvantaged area.

There is an extreme disparity in performance across these schools. McWillie Elementary is the clear academic standout, ranked 56th of 377 schools statewide with a 4-star rating, and its 5th-grade proficiency rates are extraordinary: 85.7% in ELA, 85.8% in math, and 92.8% in science—far above state averages. North Jackson Elementary is the most improved, climbing from the 31st percentile in 2023-24 to the 68th percentile in 2025-26, with 4th-grade scores above state averages in both ELA and math. At the other end, Boyd Elementary is the most challenged, ranking 371st of 377 with proficiency rates in the teens for 3rd-grade math and ELA, plus a 41.7% chronic absenteeism rate. Green Elementary has declined sharply from the 29th to the 5th percentile in two years, while Smilow Collegiate is the only K-4 school and has the highest student-teacher ratio at 21:1.

The biggest takeaway for parents is that poverty is not destiny. All five schools serve 100% economically disadvantaged students, yet McWillie outperforms its own district, Jackson Public Schools, by enormous margins, and both McWillie and North Jackson beat state averages in multiple subjects. Chronic absenteeism strongly tracks with achievement—Boyd's 41.7% rate is a major outlier compared to McWillie's historically low 5.2%. McWillie, the highest performer, has the lowest student-teacher ratio (15.5:1), while the other schools cluster in the 20–22% absenteeism range. Within one zip code, families can choose between one of the best-performing schools in Mississippi and one of the lowest, which suggests that school-level leadership, attendance, and instructional quality matter enormously.