Best High Schools in Zip Code 39212

Zip code 39212 contains exactly one high school, Forest Hill High School, serving grades 9-12 with 1,139 students in the Jackson Public Schools district. This is a high-poverty school where every single student qualifies for free or reduced lunch, and its chronic absenteeism rate of 43.7% is nearly double the state average – a major red flag for parents to consider.

Forest Hill’s academic performance is far below state averages across every subject. In the most recent year, only 35.3% of students scored proficient in Algebra I, 22.0% in English II, and 35.7% in Biology – while the state averages were 66.0%, 49.3%, and 63.1%, respectively. Scores also fell sharply from the prior year in every tested subject, with English II dropping by 6.5 percentage points. The school’s statewide ranking has been volatile: from the 6th percentile in 2023-2024, up to the 13th percentile in 2024-2025, and then down to the 4th percentile in 2025-2026. That places Forest Hill in the bottom 5% of Mississippi high schools. On the positive side, the student-teacher ratio is a favorable 13.8:1, and the graduation rate of 85.4% beats the district average of 83.7%, though it trails the state’s 89.2%.

For parents, the most important takeaways are mixed. Forest Hill is not an outlier within its own district – in fact, it outperformed Jackson Public Schools in Biology and U.S. History in the prior year, and its graduation rate is above the district norm. However, the severe chronic absenteeism and declining test scores indicate real struggles that outweigh the favorable class sizes. With 100% economic disadvantage, the school faces significant challenges, but the data also suggest that targeted attendance interventions could have a meaningful impact. If you’re considering this school, focus on the trends: the recent downward slide in both test scores and state ranking makes it clear that Forest Hill needs immediate support to reverse course.