The top reported proficiency rate is 65% in Science. The lowest is 38% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Rod Paige Middle School
RodPaige Middle School sits on Broad Street West in Monticello, the county seat of Lawrence County, Mississippi. It serves grades six through eight as part of the Lawrence County School District and is a traditional public school. The enrollment is small for a middle school, with students spread fairly evenly across the three grades and a few ungraded students as well.
The student body is nearly evenly split between Black and White students, with a small Hispanic presence and a handful of students identifying as two or more races or American Indian/Alaska Native. A very large majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which reflects the broader economic conditions in the area. The data did not include rates for students with individualized education programs or English learners, so those populations could not be characterized here.
On state assessments through the Mississippi Academic Assessment Program, math is the school's clear strength. Seventh-grade math stands out as particularly strong, with most tested students reaching proficiency. Sixth-grade math is moderate, and eighth-grade math sits just above the halfway mark. The pattern across grades suggests students generally perform better in math than in English language arts, though the dip in eighth-grade math from the seventh-grade peak is visible in the grade-by-grade results.
English language arts results are softer. Across all three grades, roughly a third to just over two-fifths of students reach proficiency. Sixth and eighth grade are closely aligned at the lower end, with seventh grade modestly ahead. This is the area where a parent may want to look into what supports the school has in place for reading and writing growth. Eighth-grade science results are solid, with a healthy majority of students demonstrating proficiency.
No multi-year trend data was available, so it is not possible to say whether these results are improving, declining, or holding steady. Participation rates were also missing from the data. The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report. No civil-rights data, discipline figures, course-access information, staffing numbers, or attendance data were provided, and no program offerings were listed. The gap in these sections means a parent would need to contact the school directly for details on electives, extracurriculars, teacher experience, and student support services.
Monticello is a small town on the Pearl River, with an economy built on agriculture and pine timber, plus a local manufacturer of large excavator buckets. Publicly reported sources describe a historic district along Broad Street with buildings on the National Register of Historic Places, and civic life centers on the Lawrence County Civic Center and Museum, Cooper's Ferry Park with its boardwalk over the river, and Atwood Water Park just east of town. The Atwood Music Festival, held on Memorial Day Weekend, is publicly reported to be the longest-running festival of its kind in Mississippi. The town is car-dependent with no public transit, and the Pearl River bridge is described as particularly unfriendly for pedestrians. Monticello has been experiencing a modest population decline since the last census, and no specific new housing developments or major projects were identified in available sources.
Housing in the school's zip code is quite affordable relative to both state and national benchmarks. Typical home values sit well below the Mississippi statewide level and far below the national figure, and the estimated monthly mortgage payment at current rates is modest. Home values in the area have declined slightly over the past year, while state and national values have each edged upward. Rental data was not available for this location. The price-to-income ratio is favorable, suggesting that for families who can secure a down payment, homeownership in the area is within reach relative to typical earnings.
We looked for recent parent-relevant changes in the Lawrence County School District but found little, so we left it out rather than guess.
For a family weighing Rod Paige Middle School, the academic picture is mixed: math performance is a genuine strength, especially in seventh grade, while English language arts is an area where results trail and where questions about instructional support are reasonable to ask. The school is small, which can mean closer attention from teachers but also fewer program options than a larger middle school might offer. The community is quiet, rural, and affordable, with a clear identity rooted in its river setting and timber heritage, though its population is contracting and amenities are limited to what a small county seat can sustain.
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