Summary:
Zip code 39601 in Brookhaven, Mississippi, is served by two middle schools — Lipsey Middle School and Alexander Junior High — which together form a complete grades 5–8 pipeline within the Brookhaven School District, a district ranked 70th out of 134 in Mississippi. Both schools are similar in size, each enrolling roughly 340 students, and both serve high-poverty populations, with 77.4% of Lipsey students and 82.7% of Alexander students qualifying for free or reduced lunch.
The two schools show very different strengths. Alexander Junior High is a dramatic standout in Algebra I, with 100% proficiency in 2024–2025 and 92.9% in 2025–2026, far above the statewide averages of 67.3% and 66.0%. However, this likely reflects an accelerated group of students, since Alexander's general 8th grade math proficiency is just 33.1% and the district's overall Algebra I proficiency is only 46.2%. Alexander also leads in attendance, with chronic absenteeism of 18.4% — more than 5 points better than the state. Lipsey Middle School counters with strong 6th grade math (54.4% vs. 52.7% statewide) and 5th grade science that nearly matches the state.
The most serious concern is Lipsey's 5th grade math, which tumbled to 23.1% proficiency in 2025–2026, a 22.6-point drop in one year and 26.5 points below the state. English language arts is weak district-wide at every grade, and the gap grows in the upper grades: 8th grade ELA at Alexander sits at 25.3% versus 40.9% statewide, a nearly 16-point gap. There is some encouraging momentum, though — Alexander's 7th grade math jumped from 28.2% to 44.6% in a single year. Both schools keep chronic absenteeism at or below the state's 23.9% despite high poverty, and they essentially define the district's middle school outcomes. The overall picture is one of scattered excellence in a high-poverty district, with academic challenges that become more serious by grades 7 and 8.
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