Summary:
Zip code 39345 contains just one elementary school, Newton Elementary School, serving grades PK-5 with 367 students in the Newton Municipal School District, a high-poverty area where 75.2% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. As the only elementary school in the area, Newton Elementary's performance directly defines the district's elementary results, with proficiency rates identical to the district across every subject and grade level, meaning the school essentially is the district at the elementary level.
The school's biggest strength is attendance: the chronic absenteeism rate is just 7.0%, compared to 11.7% for the district and 23.9% statewide. This means students are consistently showing up to class, even though the school faces significant academic challenges. Newton Elementary is rated 1 star and ranks in the bottom 12th percentile of Mississippi elementary schools, with proficiency rates trailing the state by roughly 20-25 percentage points in English Language Arts and even wider gaps in science. Only 37% of 5th graders were proficient in science versus 71.5% statewide, a 34.5-point gap that represents the school's largest area of concern.
There are some positive signs. Fifth grade math proficiency jumped from 29.7% to 41.3% year-over-year, nearly closing the gap with the state average of 49.6% and providing a bright spot for the school. However, 4th grade ELA dropped sharply from 38.6% to 27.2%, mirroring a broader weakness in reading across all grades. Overall, the school remains in the bottom fifth of Mississippi elementary schools, though its percentile rank improved slightly from the 10th to the 12th percentile. For parents, Newton Elementary offers a supportive, well-attended environment, but academic proficiency is substantially below state averages, with the most urgent opportunities for growth in 4th grade ELA and 5th grade science.
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