The top reported proficiency rate is 82% in Math. The lowest is 59% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Neshoba Central Middle School
Neshoba Central Middle School sits in Philadelphia, the county seat of Neshoba County, and serves grades six through eight as part of the Neshoba County School District. It is a traditional public school, not a charter or magnet. The enrollment is moderate for a middle school, with students distributed fairly evenly across the three grade levels and a small ungraded group as well.
On state assessments, the school's math results are a clear strength. Across all three grades, the large majority of students reach proficiency or above on the Mississippi Academic Assessment Program. Seventh grade posts the highest math proficiency, with eighth grade close behind and sixth grade only slightly lower. Science proficiency among eighth graders is also strong, with most students meeting the proficiency bar. English language arts tells a different story. Proficiency there is more moderate, landing around the middle of the range across the three grades, with seventh grade the strongest and sixth and eighth fairly close to each other. A parent weighing this school might find the math and science results reassuring and may want to look into ELA instruction further with the school to understand how the building supports literacy growth. Participation rates were not reported in the data we reviewed. No multi-year trend data was available, so we cannot speak to whether these results represent improvement, stability, or decline over time.
The student body reflects the broader community in meaningful ways. A majority of students are white, with a substantial Black enrollment and a sizable American Indian and Alaska Native population, the latter tied to the nearby Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians whose reservation lands lie just west of the city. A smaller share of students identify as two or more races, and Asian and Hispanic enrollment is quite small. Nearly two-thirds of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which positions the school as serving a mixed-income population with a substantial share of economically disadvantaged families. Data on students with individualized education programs and English learners was not reported, so those populations cannot be characterized here.
Philadelphia is a small city and regional center. Its economy draws on manufacturing, including textiles, electric motors, automotive parts, and lumber products, along with Choctaw-owned casino and hospitality enterprises nearby. County government and the school district are also employers. The downtown is organized around a traditional courthouse square with Main Street as the primary corridor, and the built environment is low-density. Civic life includes the Neshoba County Fair, widely known as a large annual gathering, along with the Choctaw Indian Fair, the Philadelphia-Neshoba County Museum, and the Marty Stuart Congress of Country Music, named for the Philadelphia native. Nanih Waiya State Park, home to a sacred Choctaw mound, sits northeast of the city. Publicly reported sources indicate the city's population has declined modestly over recent census periods, suggesting limited growth pressure. The area was also struck by a violent tornado during the spring outbreak, which carved through the northern part of town.
Housing in the school's zip code is affordable relative to both the state and national benchmarks, with typical home values well below the statewide figure and far below the national one. The price-to-income ratio sits below the national level, suggesting that homeownership costs are moderate relative to local earnings. Home values have ticked down modestly year over year, while rents were not available in the data reviewed. Mortgage rates currently sit in the mid-six-percent range, which shapes what a family moving into the area would face.
We looked for recent parent-relevant changes in the Neshoba County School District, such as curriculum updates, construction projects, or property tax measures, and found little in the available search results, so we left that out rather than guess. Data on discipline, course access, staffing, attendance, and Title I status was also not available for this school, and no program offerings were listed. What the data does show is a middle school with strong math and science outcomes, moderate ELA results, a diverse student body reflecting its eastern Mississippi community, and housing that remains relatively affordable for families considering the area.
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