Enrollment
224
Mississippi · 2024-25 NCES data
High school (grades 9-12) · Camden, MS
Velma Jackson High School
Federal NCES profile for Velma Jackson High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 32/100.
2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 280279000541
👥 S:T ratio 66
📚 AP courses 10
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 55
📋 Attendance 0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Velma Jackson High School earns 32/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 96% of Mississippi schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Mississippi schools.
- 32
- Resource Index · Typical
- 8.6:1
- small classes for Mississippi
- 91.6%
- free-lunch eligible
- 224
- students enrolled
Velma Jackson High School has class sizes smaller than 96% of Mississippi schools. Computed live against every Mississippi school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Madison Co School Dist · Mississippi
NCES ID 280279000541 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
26.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
8.6:1
vs 13.3:1 Mississippi avg
-35% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
91.6%
vs 80.5% Mississippi avg
+14% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Velma Jackson High School compares with Mississippi and U.S. medians
What stands out at Velma Jackson High School
Velma Jackson High School is a high-poverty, small high school in Camden, Mississippi, enrolling 224 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 8.6:1, Velma Jackson High School is leaner than roughly 96% of Mississippi schools and 35% under the state's 13.3:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 91.6% lands close to the Mississippi typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
Enrollment of 224 puts it in the smaller third of Mississippi schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 877 scored Mississippi schools.
Among 197 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Mississippi schools statewide, it ranks #159, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is predominantly African American (97% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 5/100).
On the academic-pipeline side it reports 2 Advanced Placement courses.
Counselor coverage is strong, about 224 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 49.6% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Discipline events run high: 69 in- and out-of-school suspensions were reported for 224 students in the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
The federal civil-rights collection also records 3 expulsions at this campus for 2021-22.
Madison Co School Dist also operates Germantown High School (1,411 students) and Madison Central High School (1,260 students) alongside Velma Jackson High School.
Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Velma Jackson High School compares
Velma Jackson High School on the metrics families compare, against Mississippi and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Mississippi | Mississippi avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 8.6:1 | ▼ 35% | 13.3:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 91.6% | ▲ 14% | 80.5% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 224 | top 88% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
8.6:1
Leaner classes than 94% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
224
Bigger than 22% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
91.6%
free-lunch eligible
- 14% above the Mississippi average of 80.5%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
8.6:1
students per teacher
- 35% below state mean
Top 4% in Mississippi - lower ratio than 96% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
49.6%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$11,127
per pupil, district-wide
- below Mississippi avg of $11,990
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 224 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 69 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 30.8 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 3 expulsions.
Overview
- Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
- Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
- F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.
Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.
Student demographics
African American 97.3%
Two or More 2.7%
Largest group: African American at 97.3% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 5.3/100
Simpson diversity index - at 5.3, Velma Jackson High School is less mixed than the Mississippi school average of 41.1.
Programs
AP courses offered 2
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Madison Co School Dist, which includes Velma Jackson High School.
$11,127
Per student
-7%
vs Mississippi
Avg $11,990
-33%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 48.5%
State 40.6%
Federal 10.9%
Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.
How Velma Jackson High School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Germantown High School | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Madison Central High School | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Madison Middle School | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Germantown Middle School | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Ridgeland High School | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Velma Jackson High School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,411
- Students per teacher
- 17:1
- Resource Index
- 29/100
- Enrollment
- 1,260
- Students per teacher
- 14.8:1
- Resource Index
- 33/100
- Enrollment
- 1,180
- Students per teacher
- 12.3:1
- Resource Index
- 53/100
- Enrollment
- 1,008
- Students per teacher
- 14.8:1
- Resource Index
- 52/100
- Enrollment
- 995
- Students per teacher
- 14.4:1
- Resource Index
- 33/100
Similar high schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Mississippi, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~224 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~8.6:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Velma Jackson High School's federal record.
- Compare Velma Jackson High School against another school. Compare schools
- Madison Co School Dist's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.
Frequently asked questions about Velma Jackson High School
How many students attend Velma Jackson High School?
Velma Jackson High School has 224 students enrolled. It is a high school in Camden, MS.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Velma Jackson High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Velma Jackson High School is 8.6:1, which is 35% lower than the Mississippi average of 13.3:1 and 45% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Velma Jackson High School?
91.6% of students at Velma Jackson High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Mississippi average of 80.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Velma Jackson High School?
The largest demographic group at Velma Jackson High School is African American at 97.3% of enrollment, in Camden, MS.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Velma Jackson High School?
Velma Jackson High School has a Resource Investment Index of 32/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
Is Velma Jackson High School a good school?
Velma Jackson High School earns 32/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 96% of Mississippi schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Mississippi schools. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.
What other schools are in Madison Co School Dist?
Besides Velma Jackson High School, Madison Co School Dist also operates Germantown High School (1,411 students), Madison Central High School (1,260 students), and Madison Middle School (1,180 students). See the Madison Co School Dist district page for the complete list.
Related tools
Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.