Best Middle Schools in zip code 39581, Mississippi

Summary:

Zip code 39581 contains one middle school, William M Colmer Middle, serving grades 7–8 in Pascagoula, Mississippi, with an enrollment of 532 students. The school is part of the Pascagoula-Gautier School District, which is highly rated at 4 stars and ranks in the top 26% of Mississippi districts. However, the school itself sits at the 47th percentile statewide (2 stars), meaning it lags behind the strong district average. Academic proficiency is below state benchmarks in most subjects, especially 8th grade math, where only 37.7% of students are proficient compared to 51.4% statewide. The school also faces challenges with chronic absenteeism, with 24.2% of students chronically absent—slightly higher than the state rate of 23.9%.

Despite these struggles, there are positive signs. The school has a favorable student-teacher ratio of 10.5 to 1, which allows for more individualized attention. The most encouraging trend is in 7th grade English Language Arts, where proficiency jumped from 29.7% in 2024–2025 to 36.4% in 2025–2026, bringing it in line with the state average. Eighth grade ELA also remains relatively stable at 38.5%, outperforming the district’s 37.9%. The school’s state ranking has been volatile, moving from the 52nd percentile (3 stars) in 2023–2024 down to the 41st percentile in 2024–2025, then recovering slightly to the 47th percentile in 2025–2026. This recent improvement in key subjects suggests a possible upward trajectory, though the school has not yet regained its 3-star rating.

For parents, the main takeaway is that William M Colmer Middle is a high-poverty school (73% free/reduced lunch) with solid staffing ratios but clear academic gaps, particularly in math and science. The district’s strong reputation does not fully extend to this school, so parents should pay close attention to math intervention and attendance support. The bright spot in 7th grade literacy suggests that recent instructional strategies may be working for younger students. Overall, the school offers a supportive environment with small class sizes, but academic performance remains middle-of-the-pack. Families looking at this area should consider the school’s strengths in ELA and its challenges in math when making decisions.

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking ()				Ranking ()
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score ()	Statewide Rank ()	State Percentile ()	SchoolDigger Rating ()	Average Standard Score ()	Statewide Rank ()	State Percentile ()	Rank Change from Previous Year

Cities Near Zip Code 39581

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Moss Point	4.35 mi	10	63^rd
Pascagoula	8 mi	13	68^th
Gautier	8.74 mi	6	62^nd
Vancleave	11.03 mi	5	2^nd
Ocean Springs	14.4 mi	11	9^th

See the top MS Mississippi cities

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Mississippi Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.

Best Middle Schools in Zip Code 39581

Cities Near Zip Code 39581