Summary:
The city of Camden, Mississippi is home to two schools - Velma Jackson High School and Camden Elementary - which serve predominantly low-income, African American student populations in the Madison County School District. While Camden Elementary has consistently high performance on state assessments, Velma Jackson High School has struggled with lower test scores compared to district and state averages, though it has shown some bright spots in specific subject areas.
Camden Elementary stands out for its strong academic performance, with 3- and 4-star ratings from SchoolDigger and particularly impressive results in 3rd grade math (93.8% proficient) and 4th grade ELA (76.9% proficient) in the 2023-2024 school year. In contrast, Velma Jackson High School ranks in the bottom half of Mississippi high schools, but has shown 63.8% proficiency in U.S. History, suggesting potential strengths in certain subject areas.
Both schools serve student populations that are over 97% African American and have extremely high rates of free/reduced lunch (over 97%), indicating they are serving historically underserved communities. Despite the challenges, the schools have small student-teacher ratios and high per-student spending, suggesting a significant investment in these institutions. Ongoing monitoring and support will be crucial to ensure continuous improvement and address the unique needs of these schools and their students.
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