Summary:
Zip code 24951 in Lindside, WV, is home to a single public high school, James Monroe High School, which serves grades 9 through 12 and is part of the Monroe County Schools district.
For parents considering this area, the most important story is a dramatic one-year shift in academic performance. In the 2024-2025 school year, James Monroe was a standout, ranking 32nd in the state with a 4-star rating and outperforming state averages in both English Language Arts (58.6% proficiency vs. 55.1% state) and Science (29.9% vs. 27.8% state). However, just one year later, the school's state ranking plummeted to 88th out of 105 schools, earning a 1-star rating. Proficiency rates fell sharply across all subjects: Math dropped from 18.4% to a critically low 7.4% (state average is 20.6%), ELA fell to 40% (state average is 51.2%), and Science dropped to 19% (state average is 23.6%). This reversal from above-average to below-average in every core subject is a major red flag that warrants a direct conversation with the school administration about what changed.
Despite these academic struggles, the school maintains a very high graduation rate of 96.0%, well above the state's 92.8%. This creates a paradox: nearly all students graduate, yet a large majority are not proficient in core subjects on state tests. The school's student-teacher ratio is 23:1, which is relatively high and may limit individualized attention. Since James Monroe is the only high school in the district, its scores are identical to the district's, meaning there are no other local options for comparison. Parents should weigh the strong graduation rate and small-town environment against the recent, severe decline in test scores and state ranking when evaluating this school.
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