Petal High School

Petal High School is a sizable four-year high school in PETAL, Mississippi, overseen by Petal School District. The school educates 1,324 students in grades 9 through 13. By comparison, Mississippi's public schools average about 651 students each, so Petal High School sits 103% bigger than that benchmark.

Petal High School is one of 5 schools operated by Petal School District, a district that educates 4,253 students overall.

On demographics, Petal High School logs that White students make up the majority at 68%; the rest consists of 18% Black, 10% Hispanic, 4% multiracial. By comparison, Forrest County as a whole is about 57% White, so the school skews visibly more White than its surroundings.

On the resource side, The school employs 103 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 12.8:1. The state averages about 12.6:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. Roughly 55% of students at Petal High School qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. Set against Forrest County (around 79%), the school's rate is south of typical.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Petal High School sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 68.3%; this one delivers 77.8%.

In the surrounding community, Forrest County reports that median household income runs about $53,640, 31% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 16%. In all, Forrest County runs 21 public schools (combined enrollment of about 10,857 students), of which Petal High School is one.

The closest other public school is Petal Elementary 3-4, roughly 0.1 miles away. Counting just inside five miles, 4 other public schools cluster around Petal High School.

Geographically, the school is in an outer-ring area.

Over the past 7-year window. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Petal High School has edged up 10%, going from 1,200 students in 2018 to 1,324 in 2025. Hispanic enrollment moved from 5% to 10% across the same window. Class-load math has narrowed: from 14.1:1 in 2018 to 12.8:1 in 2025.

On the community side, members of the Petal High School community share and discuss classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. The community welcomes input from current and former families.