Summary:
ZIP code 39345 in Newton, Mississippi, is served by one high school—Newton High School—which covers grades 9 through 12 and enrolls 237 students in the Newton Municipal School District. Because this is the only high school in the area, the following insights focus entirely on its performance and character.
Newton High School is a small, high-poverty school where roughly 79% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch, yet it posts a strong 95.7% graduation rate compared to the state’s 89.2%. The school also stands out for its low student-to-teacher ratio of 9.8, which suggests students may receive more individualized attention. In math, the school is excelling: Algebra I proficiency jumped from 63.8% to 77.3% in one year, now sitting 11.3 percentage points above the state average. U.S. History is also a bright spot at 73.7% proficiency, slightly ahead of the statewide 69.7%. Science performance is essentially average, with Biology at 61.7% versus the state’s 63.1%.
The biggest challenge at Newton High is English Language Arts. English II proficiency improved from 29.5% to 37.0%, but it still trails the state by 12.3 percentage points—a clear area for growth. Chronic absenteeism affects about one in four students (23.7%), matching the state average but representing a concern for learning consistency. Despite these hurdles, the school’s state ranking jumped dramatically from 179th to 117th between 2024–25 and 2025–26, earning a 2-star rating. Because the school is small, year-to-year swings can be driven by just a few students, but the strong graduation rate, improving math scores, and low class sizes make Newton High a school with meaningful strengths and promise for families in the area.
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