Middle Schools in Jackson Public Schools

The Jackson Public Schools district in Michigan is home to two middle schools: Middle School at Parkside and Fourth Street Learning Center. These schools serve students in grades 6-8 and face significant challenges, including low academic performance, high chronic absenteeism, and student populations from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.

Middle School at Parkside is the larger of the two schools, with 766 students, and has a more diverse student body, with 42.56% White, 34.07% African American, and 6.53% Hispanic students. However, the school consistently performs in the bottom 20-25% of Michigan middle schools on state assessments, with only 22.6% of 6th graders proficient in English Language Arts and 12% proficient in mathematics. The school also struggles with a high chronic absenteeism rate of 48.2%, well above the state average.

In contrast, Fourth Street Learning Center has a much smaller student population of 42 students, with a higher percentage of African American (54.76%) and Hispanic (9.52%) students. While the school's academic performance data is not available, it has an alarmingly high chronic absenteeism rate of 71.4%. Despite its smaller size, Fourth Street Learning Center spends more per student ($18,537) than Middle School at Parkside ($17,349), suggesting the need for additional resources and interventions to support student success in the Jackson Public Schools district.