Meridian High School

Set in Meridian, Mississippi, Meridian High School is a sprawling 9-12 campus, overseen by Meridian Public Schools. It caters to 1,253 students across grades 9 through 13. That puts it 92% larger than the typical public school in Mississippi, which averages around 651 students.

Meridian High School is one of 9 schools operated by Meridian Public Schools, a district that works with 4,385 students overall.

In terms of who attends, Meridian High School lists that 92% of students identify as Black, making the school strongly Black-majority. Beyond that, the school logs 4% Hispanic, 2% White. The wider county runs roughly 41% Black, putting the school's mix visibly more Black than the area baseline.

In terms of school funding signals, Staff filings list 114 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 11.0:1 students per teacher. The state averages around 12.6:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. About 100% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. By comparison, Lauderdale County runs at roughly 75%, so the school's eligibility rate is somewhat above the surrounding baseline.

After controlling for student poverty, On a poverty-adjusted basis, Meridian High School sits in the bottom 10% statewide. Predicted proficiency from the FRL regression is roughly 47.3%; actual is 33.2%, a gap of -14.1 points.

In the surrounding community, census data for Lauderdale County shows median household income runs about $50,817, 24% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and roughly 19% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Across Lauderdale County's 24 public schools (combined enrollment of about 10,325 students), Meridian High School is one campus in the mix.

The closest other public school is Parkview Elementary, roughly 0.7 miles away. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius.

The campus sits in a small-town setting.

Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count edged down 13%: 1,435 students in 2018 compared to 1,253 in 2025. Class-load math has fell: from 17.4:1 in 2018 to 11.0:1 in 2025.

Inside the community feed, members of the Meridian High School community share and discuss sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.