WC Mississippi News

Among the ethnicities represented in Bolivar County schools, Black was the most prevalent among the county students in the 2023-24 school year, according to the Mississippi Department of Education.

In the previous school year, Black students were also the most common group in Bolivar County, representing 76.5% of the student body.

In the 2023-24 school year, the total number of students enrolled in public schools in the county dropped 14.1% when compared to the previous year.

Mississippi's schools, with an enrollment of 436,523 in the 2023-24 academic year, are mostly divided between two ethnicities, with Black or African American students being the largest racial group at 46.86%, followed by white students at 42.14%.

Students in the state showed a significant improvement in the 2022-23 academic year, demonstrating sustained progress in their post-pandemic recovery. Overall, 87% of schools and 91% of districts achieved a grade of C or better, compared to 81% of schools and 87% of districts in the prior year.

Results from the 2022-23 Mississippi Academic Assessment Program (MAAP) showed students reaching an all-time high in all core subjects. Students better performed on the Math and English portion of the test, achieving grades around 5% better than in the previous year.

Due to missing or insufficient enrollment data, some schools were not included in the analysis.

School name	Most prevalent ethnicity	% of Total Student Population	Total Enrollment
Bell Elementary School	Black	54.7%	351
Parks Elementary School	Black	49%	243
Nailor Elementary School	Black	95.2%	251
D.M. Smith Elementary School	Black	96.9%	257
Cleveland Central Middle School	Black	79.2%	408
Cleveland Central High School	Black	78.8%	816
Pearman Elementary School	Black	76.8%	185
Northside High School	Black	96.7%	365
Brooks Elementary School	Black	98%	198
West Bolivar High School	Black	95.4%	238
Hayes Cooper Center for Math Science Technical	White	47.3%	328
West Bolivar Elementary School	Black	95.3%	255