Summary:
Zip code 39653, located in Meadville, Mississippi, is home to two middle-level schools in the Franklin County School District: Franklin Upper Elementary, serving grades 4 through 6 with 234 students, and Franklin Middle School, serving grades 7 and 8 with 157 students. Both schools serve a predominantly high-poverty population, with roughly 81-82% of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch, and the district overall holds a 2-star rating, ranking 84th out of 134 districts in Mississippi.
The two schools present notably different profiles. Franklin Upper Elementary stands out for its attendance: chronic absenteeism is 16.5%, well below the district rate of 21.4% and the state rate of 23.9%. It also posts strong results in 5th grade English Language Arts (58.6% proficient vs. 55.9% statewide) and near-state-average 4th grade math. However, the school experiences a striking math collapse at 5th grade, with proficiency falling from 54.3% in 4th grade to just 27.1%. Franklin Middle School, meanwhile, offers smaller class sizes with a 10.6 student-teacher ratio and recorded an impressive 8th grade science performance of 61.4% in 2024-2025, well above the state average of 54.7%.
Despite these bright spots, both schools trail state averages in most subjects. Franklin Middle School's chronic absenteeism jumps to 22.9%, and its test scores show volatility from year to year, including a sharp decline in 8th grade science. Notably, the favorable class sizes at the middle school have not translated into stronger academic outcomes, suggesting that factors like attendance and instructional quality matter more. Overall, while Franklin Upper Elementary demonstrates that high-poverty schools can achieve strong attendance and some academic successes, the combined picture is one of below-state performance in math and English Language Arts, with the 5th grade transition and middle-school attendance emerging as key areas for intervention.
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