Pine Belt Times

Of the 10,799 students in Forrest County schools 50.8% were men and 49.2% were women, according to the Mississippi Department of Education.

The previous year, the student body across Forrest County schools was 50.6% men and 49.4% women.

Petal High School in Petal had the highest number of boys and girls enrolled.

There are 20 schools within the county.

Mississippi's schools, with an enrollment of 436,523 in the 2023-24 academic year, are mostly divided between two ethnicities, with Black or African American students being the largest racial group at 46.86%, followed by white students at 42.14%.

Students in the state showed a significant improvement in the 2022-23 academic year, demonstrating sustained progress in their post-pandemic recovery. Overall, 87% of schools and 91% of districts achieved a grade of C or better, compared to 81% of schools and 87% of districts in the prior year.

Results from the 2022-23 Mississippi Academic Assessment Program (MAAP) showed students reaching an all-time high in all core subjects. Students better performed on the Math and English portion of the test, achieving grades around 5% better than in the previous year.

School	Men	Women
Petal High School	634	654
Petal Primary School	588	508
Hattiesburg High School	486	478
Petal Middle School	388	357
Petal Elementary School	331	303
Petal Upper Elementary School	330	299
Forrest County Agricultural High School	287	324
South Forrest Attendance Center	300	283
Thames Elementary School	265	267
N.R. Burger Middle School	265	264
Dixie Attendance Center	260	238
Woodley Elementary School	201	201
Rowan Elementary School	173	176
North Forrest High School	178	164
Grace Christian Elementary School	160	158
Hawkins Elementary School	143	155
Hattiesburg Steam Academy	134	141
Earl Travillion Attendance Center	141	122
North Forrest Attendance Center	116	109
Rawls Springs Attendance Center	106	112