Schools in Zip Code 39350

ZIP code 39350 serves about 5,185 students across 10 schools spanning elementary through high school grades, but it is a study in contrasts: Neshoba County Schools ranks among the top districts in Mississippi, while Philadelphia Public School District struggles near the bottom, and five standalone tribal-aligned schools have no public performance data. Neshoba Central High School is a standout, ranked 19th out of 224 high schools with a 96.6% graduation rate and Biology proficiency at 91.9% versus the state’s 63.1%. Neshoba Central Middle School and Neshoba Central Elementary School also earn top ratings, with 8th grade math proficiency of 84.4% and 4th grade math of 73.5%, respectively.

In the same ZIP code, Philadelphia High School ranks 204th out of 224, with a graduation rate of 82.4% and Biology proficiency of just 31.7%. Philadelphia Elementary School ranks 270th out of 377, though its 5th grade science score of 75.5% beats the state average. Notably, Neshoba County schools achieve these results while serving a majority low-income population (66–70% free/reduced lunch), proving high poverty does not have to mean low performance. The five standalone schools—including Choctaw Central High School, Pearl River Elementary School, Choctaw Central Middle School, Bogue Chitto Elementary School, and Tucker Elementary School—have very high poverty rates (97%+ free/reduced lunch) and very low student-teacher ratios (6.1 to 8.9), but no test scores or rankings in this data set.

Chronic absenteeism is a concern at Neshoba Central High School at 30.3%, even though academics are strong, while the district’s elementary and middle schools sit in the 17–19% range. Test scores are also volatile between years, especially at Philadelphia schools, so single-year rankings can shift. The clearest takeaway for parents is that district boundaries, not geography, define educational opportunity here: top-tier Neshoba County schools sit just miles from struggling Philadelphia schools, making the choice of district—and the availability of data for tribal schools—the most important factor in this area.