Joel E. Smilow Prep
Public middle school, grades 5 to 8 · Jackson, Mississippi
Joel E. Smilow Prep in Jackson, Mississippi enrolled 521 students in 2024-25 with 26.0 full-time teachers, 20.0 students per teacher against the Mississippi middle-school median of 13.1. It ran a schoolwide Title I program in 2021-22; every student eats free under the Community Eligibility Provision (2024-25). On the state tests, 22% of its students tested were proficient in reading in 2021-22 and 25% proficient in math in 2022-23 (Mississippi: 41.7% and 52.1%).
NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 · Civil Rights Data Collection 2021-22 · Title I status CCD 2021-22 · method
Enrollment fell 10% from 2022-23 to 2024-25; full-time teachers fell 35%
577 students in 2022-23, 564 students in 2023-24, 521 students in 2024-25. Full-time teachers went from 39.9 to 26.0.
The numbers as a table
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Per teacher |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-23 | 577 | 39.9 | 14.5 |
| 2023-24 | 564 | 33.3 | 16.9 |
| 2024-25 | 521 | 26.0 | 20.0 |
20.0 students per teacher, a higher ratio than 97 of every 100 Mississippi middle schools
Among the 175 Mississippi middle schools that reported teachers for 2024-25 the median is 13.1; the national median for middle schools is 14.6. A ratio counts every teacher, so it is not the size of a class.
Source: NCES Common Core of Data membership and staff files, 2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25; the comparison counts schools with a 2024-25 teacher count and a ratio from 3 to 99 (lower values are reporting errors).
Programs and staff in 2021-22
In the 2021-22 civil rights collection Joel E. Smilow Prep enrolled 572 students and reported no counselor; it reported 81 out-of-school suspensions that year.
- Advanced Placement coursesNone
- Gifted and talented programNo
- Counselors (FTE)0.0
- Out-of-school suspensions81
- Chronically absent24.6% (2022-23)
Who attends
98.8% of students were Black, 0.6% of two or more races, 0.4% Hispanic in 2024-25.
- Black98.8%
- Two or more races0.6%
- Hispanic0.4%
- White0.2%
Source: U.S. Department of Education, Civil Rights Data Collection 2021-22; chronic absenteeism from EDFacts 2022-23; every count and the counselor ratio are for that school year. Who attends: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25, membership by race and ethnicity.
State test results, 2021-22 and 2022-23
The students tested at Joel E. Smilow Prep scored proficient or above: 22% in reading in 2021-22 and 25% in math in 2022-23, against 41.7% in reading in 2021-22 and 52.1% in math in 2022-23 across Mississippi. Each state writes its own test and sets its own proficiency bar, so compare these within Mississippi, not across states. ED Data Express holds no district results after 2021-22, so the district column gives its 2021-22 figure.
| Subject and year | This school | Its district | Mississippi |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reading and language arts, 2021-22 | 22% | 22% | 41.7% |
| Math, 2022-23 | 25% | 29% (2021-22) | 52.1% |
Source: U.S. Department of Education, EDFacts state assessment results 2021-22 and 2022-23, all students, from ED Data Express (2021-22 through the Data Rescue Project archive); for 2022-23 ED published math by school and reading only by state: ED shows school and district results as ranges (for example 20-24%) to protect small groups.
Middle schools in Jackson
11 public middle schools in Jackson report 2024-25 enrollment; Joel E. Smilow Prep is number 3 by size.
| School | Students | Per teacher | Free lunch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Powell Middle School | 704 | 12.5 | 99.6% |
| Peeples Middle School | 541 | 11.6 | 100.0% |
| Joel E. Smilow Prep | 521 | 20.0 | 99.8% |
| Chastain Middle School | 499 | 10.4 | 100.0% |
| Reimagine Prep | 457 | 21.8 | 100.0% |
| Midtown Public Charter School | 420 | 13.5 | 100.0% |
| Brinkley Middle School | 354 | 10.2 | 100.0% |
| Whitten Middle School | 338 | 12.2 | 100.0% |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25.
What to look at next about Joel E. Smilow Prep
- Midtown Public Charter SchoolThe nearest public middle school, 0.6 miles away: 420 students, 13.5 per teacher (2024-25).0.6 mi
- Kirksey Middle SchoolThe next nearest public middle school, 1.9 miles away: 389 students, 12.8 per teacher (2024-25).1.9 mi
- Compare Joel E. Smilow Prep with Midtown Public Charter SchoolStudents, teachers, meals, test results and who attends, side by side.
- How much Joel E. Smillow Prep spends per student$11,640 per student on current operations in fiscal year 2022-23 (U.S. $16,260), with its revenue sources and teacher pay.$11,640
- The largest public schools in MississippiJoel E. Smilow Prep is the number 54 by size of 176 Mississippi middle schools open in 2024-25.#54 of 176
- Mississippi schools by students per teacher20.0 students per teacher here against the Mississippi median of 13.1 for middle schools.20.0:1
- Find the school district for an addressA home's district, not its city, decides which public schools it can enroll in.
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 (locations, enrollment, teachers); NCES F-33 finance survey, fiscal year 2022-23. Distances are straight lines between the schools' NCES coordinates, not travel routes.
Questions about Joel E. Smilow Prep
How many students attend Joel E. Smilow Prep?
521 in the 2024-25 school year, according to the NCES Common Core of Data; 577 in 2022-23. It is a middle school in Jackson, MS.What is the student-teacher ratio at Joel E. Smilow Prep?
20.0 students per full-time teacher (2024-25); the Mississippi median for middle schools is 13.1. A ratio counts every teacher, so it is not the size of a class.Is Joel E. Smilow Prep a Title I school?
Joel E. Smilow Prep ran a schoolwide Title I program in 2021-22, the last year NCES published school Title I status.How do students at Joel E. Smilow Prep do on state tests?
The students tested at Joel E. Smilow Prep scored proficient or above: 22% in reading in 2021-22 and 25% in math in 2022-23, against 41.7% in reading in 2021-22 and 52.1% in math in 2022-23 across Mississippi. Mississippi's own test sets what proficient means, so results compare within the state, not across states. Source: U.S. Department of Education, EDFacts state assessment results, 2021-22 and 2022-23; ED publishes school results as ranges to protect small groups.What district is Joel E. Smilow Prep in?
Joel E. Smillow Prep, NCES district ID 2800192. The first seven digits of the school's NCES ID 280019201471 are the district's.
Reading these figures: how to choose a school district, what Title I means and what an absenteeism rate means. They are for information and are not a substitute for the school's or district's own records.
Sources
Every federal file behind this record
- NCES Common Core of Data, 2024-25: directory, membership, staff and lunch files. nces.ed.gov
- NCES Common Core of Data, 2021-22 school characteristics: Title I status. nces.ed.gov
- Civil Rights Data Collection, 2021-22: AP courses, gifted programs, counselors, discipline. civilrightsdata.ed.gov
- EDFacts, 2022-23: chronic absenteeism. ed.gov
- EDFacts state assessment results, 2021-22 and 2022-23: reading and math proficiency for the school, its district and its state (ED Data Express). eddataexpress.ed.gov
- NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, fiscal year 2022-23: district spending and revenue. nces.ed.gov
- U.S. Census Bureau geocoder and TIGER school districts: the district boundary used by the district finder. census.gov
Source: NCES Common Core of Data Directory, membership, staff and lunch files · 2024-25
Source: Civil Rights Data Collection School-level files (AP, gifted, counselors, discipline) · 2021-22
District spending on the district page is from the NCES F-33 finance survey, fiscal year 2022-23.