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Welcome to the JOEL E. SMILOW PREP community. What's one thing that would make JOEL E. SMILOW PREP even better?
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Enrollment
521
Middle
STATE 452
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·JOEL E. SMILOW PREP·NCES 280019201471
Smilow Prep
787 E Northside Dr., Jackson, MS 39206 · (769) 524-5330 · Hinds County
GRADES 05–08MIDDLE12-CITYCHARTERTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL521 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
20.0:1
26 FTE teachers
STATE 13.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
100%
520 students
STATE 80%
Community
1
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other middle schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 5 | 107 | 21% |
| Grade 6 | 125 | 24% |
| Grade 7 | 150 | 29% |
| Grade 8 | 139 | 27% |
Student demographics
2%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
STATE 62% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
MAAP 2024-25 . % Proficient + AdvancedEnglish Language Arts
25.7%
MS avg 45.9% . -1.4pp since 2023
Math
25.7%
MS avg 52.8% . -9.1pp since 2023
What this means: On the MAAP, Mississippi's statewide test, about 26 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 26 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Mississippi schools, those numbers are about 46 and 53. Reading and writing scores are down about 1 points since 2023, while math scores are down about 9 points.
MAAP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 25.7% | 25.7% |
| 2023-24 | 27.1% | 34.8% |
% Proficient + Advanced, all students and all tested grades.
Source: MAAP. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
35.7%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
44.2%
based on MS schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-8.5pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 36% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 44% typical for Mississippi schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Mississippi's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Smilow Prep
Smilow Prep's state test result (35.7% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smilow Prep this school | 521 | 99.8% | 35.7% |
| Reimagine Prep Jackson | 457 | 100.0% | 29.5% |
| Woolfolk Middle School YAZOO CITY | 449 | 99.3% | 20.8% |
| Columbus Middle School Columbus | 597 | 99.7% | 29.3% |
| Midtown Public Charter School Jackson | 420 | 100.0% | 30.9% |
| Cardozo Middle School Jackson | 531 | 100.0% | 16.7% |
Matched among Mississippi middle schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Smilow Prep ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Mississippi | In Hinds County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 35.7% | #132 of 176 | #6 of 13 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 25.7% | #159 of 181 ▼ 20 | #8 of 15 ▼ 2 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 25.7% | #138 of 181 ▼ 8 | #6 of 15 ▲ 1 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 521 | #54 of 186 | #6 of 15 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 20.0:1 | #159 of 163 | #14 of 15 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 2.3% | #163 of 164 | #15 of 15 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 99.8% | #50 of 184 | #9 of 15 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +82.2% | #1 of 34 | #1 of 7 |
Ranked against other public middle schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
521
-87 (-14%) vs 2020
Student : Teacher
20.0:1
was 24.3:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 521 | 26 | 20.0:1 | 100% (520) |
| 2023-24 | 564 | 33.3 | 16.9:1 | 100% (564) |
| 2022-23 | 577 | 39.9 | 14.4:1 | 100% (577) |
| 2020-21 | 608 | 25 | 24.3:1 | 100% (608) |
| 2017-18 | 286 | 15.6 | 18.3:1 | 100% (286) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Smilow Prep.
About Smilow Prep
Smilow Prep is a medium-sized middle school with an address in Jackson, Mississippi. School enrollment was 521 students in 2024-25, in grades 5 through 8.
For district matters, Smilow Prep falls under Joel E. Smilow Prep.
Smilow Prep enrolls a student body that is 99% Black. In Hinds County overall, about 72% of residents are Black. By the diversity index, Smilow Prep comes in at 2%.
Federal records show a student-to-teacher ratio of 20.0:1 at Smilow Prep, with 26 full-time-equivalent teachers. Among middle schools in Mississippi, the typical ratio is 13.7:1. The count of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch equals 100% of enrollment. Among public schools in Hinds County, the average eligibility rate is 88%.
On the allk12 BeatsExpectations measure, Smilow Prep is 8.5 points below the average proficiency rate on state tests predicted for its free or reduced-price lunch share: 35.7% actual, 44.2% predicted. That is outside both the top and bottom 10% in Mississippi.
Hinds County census figures show that median household income is about $49,402, about 31% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 17%. A total of 84 public schools operate in Hinds County, serving about 32,870 students.
The nearest public school is Smilow Collegiate, at less than a tenth of a mile. There are at least 8 other public schools within five miles. On state test proficiency, Smilow Prep ranks 3rd in a group of 6 nearby schools.
The NCES locale for Smilow Prep is City: Mid-size, which covers schools inside a principal city with a population between 100,000 and 250,000. Smilow Prep operates as a charter school, which is publicly funded and run under a charter.
A comparison of 2020-21 and 2024-25 shows enrollment down 14%, from 608 to 521. The ratio of students to teachers went from 24.3:1 to 20.0:1 over the same years.
Discussion on this page can cover school safety, transportation, and start times. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
Hinds County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
218,533
Census ACS
Median income
$49,402
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
31%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
17%
Below federal line
Schools in county
84
32,870 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Jackson
- Murrah High SchoolHigh · 1,259 students
- Forest Hill High SchoolHigh · 1,139 students
- Callaway High SchoolHigh · 994 students
- Jim Hill High SchoolHigh · 975 students
- Lanier Junior/Senior High SchoolHigh · 895 students
- Provine High SchoolHigh · 791 students
Nearby schools
- Smilow Collegiate0.0 mi · 547
- CHASTAIN MIDDLE SCHOOL0.3 mi · 483
- Boyd Elementary School0.3 mi · 424
- Midtown Public Charter School0.6 mi · 420
- McWillie Elementary School0.7 mi · 414
- MS School For The Blind1.0 mi · 42
Frequently asked questions
About Smilow PrepHow many students attend Smilow Prep?
Smilow Prep enrolls approximately 521 students in grades 05-08.
What grades does Smilow Prep serve?
Smilow Prep serves grades 05-08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Smilow Prep?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Smilow Prep is approximately 20.0:1 (26 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Smilow Prep?
At Smilow Prep, the student body is approximately 0% White, 0% Hispanic, 99% Black, 1% Two or more.
Who oversees Smilow Prep?
Smilow Prep is overseen by Joel E. Smilow Prep in Hinds County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.