Summary:
Zip code 39562 in Moss Point, Mississippi contains three elementary schools serving grades PK through 5: East Central Lower Elementary (PK-2), East Central Upper Elementary (3-5), and Escatawpa Upper Elementary (3-5). These schools belong to two different districts: the Jackson County School District, ranked 2nd out of 134 districts in Mississippi, and the Moss Point School District, ranked 88th. This district divide shapes very different educational experiences within the same community.
East Central Upper Elementary is the clear academic standout, ranked 38th out of 377 Mississippi elementary schools with a 5-star rating. It has improved from the 79th to the 90th percentile over three years and exceeds state averages in every subject and grade level, with a 70.9% overall proficiency rate. In contrast, Escatawpa Upper Elementary ranks 337th with a 1-star rating, has dropped from the 24th to the 11th percentile, and posts a 31.2% overall proficiency rate. The achievement gap between these two upper elementary schools is 39.7 percentage points; for example, 3rd grade math proficiency is 61.5% at East Central Upper versus just 16.2% at Escatawpa Upper.
Poverty and attendance help explain these differences. Escatawpa Upper has 100% free/reduced lunch eligibility and a 39.5% chronic absenteeism rate, nearly 1.7 times the state average, while East Central Upper has 56.9% free/reduced lunch eligibility and a 16.4% chronic absenteeism rate. Interestingly, Escatawpa actually has the smallest class sizes with a 13.3 student-teacher ratio, yet still shows the lowest test scores, suggesting that poverty, attendance, and district support matter more than class size alone. East Central Lower Elementary serves the youngest students in the Jackson County district, with a 23.1% chronic absenteeism rate worth monitoring as these students advance. This zip code demonstrates that school district boundaries within the same community can produce dramatically different outcomes.
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