The top reported proficiency rate is 67% in Science. The lowest is 43% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Perry Central Middle School
Perry Central Middle School serves grades six through eight in New Augusta, a very small rural town that functions as the county seat of Perry County. The school sits within the Perry County School District and operates as a conventional public school, not a charter or magnet. Its enrollment is modest for a middle school, with the student body split fairly evenly across the three grade levels.
The town itself is part of the Hattiesburg metropolitan area but retains an entirely rural character. Publicly reported sources describe New Augusta as primarily residential and governmental, centered on its role as county seat. The Perry County Courthouse and town hall anchor a modest civic core, with a post office nearby. There is no pedestrian-oriented commercial main street, and the built environment reflects low-density rural life. The town has been losing population gradually over recent decades, and no major housing developments or growth initiatives surfaced in available sources. For families considering the area, this is a quiet, small-place setting where civic life revolves around county government rather than commerce or nightlife.
State assessment results from the most recent school year are available and give a useful picture. In math, roughly half of sixth graders and eighth graders reached proficiency or above, while seventh grade math stood out as a relative bright spot with a substantially higher share proficient. Science results for eighth grade were similarly strong, matching that seventh-grade math level. English language arts results were more mixed: sixth and eighth grades landed near the midpoint, while seventh grade ELA was the weakest result in the building. No participation rates were reported, and multi-year trend data was not available, so it is hard to say whether these results reflect improvement, decline, or stability over time. A parent weighing these results might look into the seventh-grade ELA gap with the school, as it stands apart from the other grade-level results.
The student body is predominantly white, with a substantial minority of Black students and a small number of students identifying as two or more races. A large majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic conditions of the surrounding community. Data on students with individualized education programs and English learners was not reported, so the school's special-population support picture is incomplete from available sources.
Housing in the school's zip code is quite affordable compared with state and national benchmarks. Home values sit well below the Mississippi state average and far below the national figure, and the price-to-income ratio comes in below the national level, suggesting that homeownership is within reach for many local families relative to broader patterns. Home values have been appreciating at a brisk pace recently, which may reflect broader rural market trends. Rent data was not available for this area. The estimated monthly mortgage cost is moderate, and the area's affordability is one of its defining characteristics for families.
Several categories of information that parents often ask about were absent from the available data. There were no civil-rights indicators, no discipline reports, no course-access or program listings, no staffing details, and no attendance figures. The district brief for Perry County School District turned up little of lasting impact from recent changes, so there is no concrete district-level initiative to report. Title I status was not specified, though the high rate of economic need among students would typically qualify a school for such support. A parent seeking a fuller picture would want to ask the school directly about these areas.
What the available evidence describes is a small rural middle school in a quiet, affordable county-seat town, serving a student body with considerable economic need. Academic results are mixed but include genuine strengths in seventh-grade math and eighth-grade science, alongside a softer spot in seventh-grade ELA. The setting is rural, the housing market is accessible, and the community is small and closely tied to county government. Families drawn to small-town life and looking for an affordable place to live will find that here, with the understanding that program breadth and specialized offerings could not be confirmed from available data.
See more original research from School Decision →