Summary:
Zip code 39730 in Aberdeen, Mississippi, is home to just one middle school—Belle-Shivers Middle School—which serves grades 5 through 8 and is part of the Aberdeen School District, a district currently ranked 99th out of 134 in Mississippi. Because this is the only middle school in the area, all district-level results mirror the school’s own performance, making Belle-Shivers the sole focus for families in this zip code.
Belle-Shivers enrolls 266 students and has a low student-teacher ratio of 10.8, which is a positive structural factor for individualized attention. Academically, the school remains below state averages in all tested subjects, but there are encouraging trends. In English Language Arts, proficiency improved in every grade from 2024-2025 to 2025-2026—with 7th grade jumping 10.8 points and 5th and 8th grades each gaining 8 points—bringing the school average from 24.9% to 31.8% (state: 45.4%). Science is the school’s relative strength, averaging 45.5% proficiency versus the state’s 64.7%. The most volatile area is math: 7th grade proficiency collapsed from 62.7% (above the state average) to 37.2% in one year, while 5th and 8th grades saw strong gains. Overall, a simple average across subjects rose from roughly 36.5% to 39.0%, though the school still ranks in the bottom third of Mississippi middle schools and holds a 1-star rating.
Demographically, 100% of Belle-Shivers students qualify for free/reduced lunch, indicating a highly economically disadvantaged population. Despite that challenge, chronic absenteeism is 20.7%—better than the district’s 21.6% and the state’s 23.9%—signaling solid daily attendance. The low student-teacher ratio has not yet translated into above-average test scores, but the recent ELA gains and science performance provide a foundation. With only one middle school in the zip code, any improvement at Belle-Shivers directly lifts the entire Aberdeen School District’s standing, making its progress especially impactful for the community.
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