Summary:
Zip code 39701 (Columbus, MS) contains 6 schools serving 1,737 students: 4 elementary schools and 2 high schools with no standalone middle schools, spanning the Columbus Municipal School District, Lowndes County School District, and the selective statewide Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science. Poverty is nearly universal across the five traditional zoned schools, with free/reduced lunch rates between 98.5% and 100%.
The Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science is in a class by itself, ranked the #1 high school in Mississippi for three consecutive years with 100% proficiency in Algebra I, English II, and Biology, and a 99.1% graduation rate. Among the zoned schools, West Lowndes Elementary stands out with the lowest chronic absenteeism at 14.0% and strong 5th-grade math and science scores. Franklin Academy posted the highest overall elementary proficiency average in 2024-2025 (38.6%), driven by 67.5% 5th-grade science proficiency, despite having the highest chronic absenteeism in the data at 44.6%. West Lowndes High School is the weakest traditional high school, with an 86.5% graduation rate and chronic absenteeism of 39.6%.
A stark divide exists within this single zip code: the #1 high school in Mississippi sits alongside multiple schools in the bottom 20th percentile. Chronic absenteeism correlates with poor performance - the two schools with the highest absenteeism are among the lowest performers. District context matters: Lowndes County School District ranks 53rd out of 134 Mississippi districts, while Columbus Municipal School District ranks 122nd. Grade-level performance is highly unstable, with large swings from year to year, suggesting cohort effects. West Lowndes High School covers grades 7-12, meaning middle school students share a building with high schoolers, which may affect transition experiences.
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