Thomas E. Edwards Senior High School

Summary:

Thomas E. Edwards Senior High School is a public high school serving grades 9-12 in Ruleville, Mississippi, with a student population of 336 that is predominantly African American. The school faces significant academic and socioeconomic challenges, consistently underperforming compared to state and local district averages on standardized tests and ranking among the lowest-performing high schools in Mississippi.

Despite having a relatively low student-teacher ratio and higher-than-average spending per student, Thomas E. Edwards Senior High School has struggled to improve its academic metrics over the years. The school's proficiency rates in core subjects like Algebra I, English II, Biology, and U.S. History are 10-20 percentage points below the state averages, and it has received a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger, indicating it is among the lowest-performing schools in the state. The school's 100% free and reduced-price lunch rate suggests that all students come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, which likely contributes to the academic challenges.

Interestingly, nearby schools like Northside High School and West Tallahatchie High School, which also serve predominantly African American student populations with similar socioeconomic challenges, generally outperform Thomas E. Edwards Senior High School on academic measures. This suggests that factors beyond demographics and funding may be contributing to the school's struggles, and a more comprehensive approach may be needed to address the underlying issues and support student success.

Detail:

Public 9-12

360 L F Packer Drive
Ruleville, MS 38771

(662) 756-4757

District: Sunflower City Cons School District

SchoolDigger Rank:
197^th of 228 Mississippi High Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $15,582

Student/teacher ratio: 11.0

Number of students: 337

Racial breakdown:

African American:

96.1%

Hispanic:

2.4%

White:

1.5%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 100%

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Performance Trends

Compare Details Thomas E. Edwards Senior High School ranks worse than 86.4% of high schools in Mississippi. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 16.53. (See more...)

The four-year cohort graduation rate measures the percentage of students at Thomas E. Edwards Senior High School who earn a standard high school diploma within four years of starting ninth grade.

Chronic absenteeism in a school refers to a situation where students repeatedly miss school, with the threshold often defined as missing 10% or more of school days for any reason, excused or unexcused.

Student Body

Compare Details Racial makeup is: African American (96.1%), Hispanic (2.4%), White (1.5%). (See more...)

Compare Details 100% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Thomas E. Edwards Senior High School is 11. 1 high schools in the Sunflower City Cons School District have better student/teacher ratios. (See more...)

Compare Thomas E. Edwards Senior High School employs 30.4 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Thomas E. Edwards Senior High School is $15,582, which is the highest among 3 high schools in the Sunflower City Cons School District!

Schooldigger Rankings:

Thomas E. Edwards Senior High School was not ranked this year due to insufficient test score data.

SchoolDigger ranks Thomas E. Edwards Senior High School 197^th of 228 Mississippi public high schools. (See Thomas E. Edwards Senior High School in the ranking list.)

Sunflower City Cons School District:

SchoolDigger ranks Sunflower City Cons School District 88^th of 130 Mississippi school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Thomas E. Edwards Senior High School

Compare

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	MS State Percentile
2017	11.70	215^th	237	9.3%
2018	10.48	215^th	233	7.7%
2021	10.20	214^th	231	7.4%
2022	12.78	206^th	228	9.6%
2023	17.35	195^th	226	13.7%
2024	16.53	197^th	228	13.6%

See the entire list of Mississippi High School Rankings!

Data source: test scores: Mississippi Department of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

Data source: Mississippi Department of Education

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Enrollment information for Thomas E. Edwards Senior High School

Compare

Year	White	African American	Hispanic	American Indian	Two or More Races	Total
2015	14	412	11	0	1	438
2016	8	391	8	0	0	407
2017	6	379	11	0	0	396
2018	2	386	7	0	0	395
2019	3	334	7	0	0	344
2020	2	323	8	0	0	333
2021	3	284	11	0	0	298
2022	3	324	10	1	0	338
2023	3	327	6	0	0	336
2024	5	324	8	0	0	337

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Thomas E. Edwards Senior High School

Compare

Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
2015	438	32.0	13.6	100
2016	407	31.0	13.1	100
2017	396	30.2	13.1	100
2018	395	25.9	15.2	100
2019	344	26.4	12.9	100
2020	333	26.2	12.6	100
2021	298	26.3	11.2	100
2022	338	27.1	12.4	100
2023	336	26.2	12.8	100
2024	337	30.4	11.0	100

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Thomas E. Edwards Senior High School

Compare

Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
2015	438	32.0	13.6	100
2016	407	31.0	13.1	100
2017	396	30.2	13.1	100
2018	395	25.9	15.2	100
2019	344	26.4	12.9	100
2020	333	26.2	12.6	100
2021	298	26.3	11.2	100
2022	338	27.1	12.4	100
2023	336	26.2	12.8	100
2024	337	30.4	11.0	100

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.

Finances

Per Pupil Expenditures for Thomas E. Edwards Senior High School

Year	Total Expenditures Per Pupil
2017	$10,505
2018	$11,470
2019	$11,126
2020	$13,441
2021	$13,305
2022	$15,582

Data source: Mississippi Department of Education

Pre and Post Pandemic Data

Impact of COVID-19 on Thomas E. Edwards Senior High School

The coronavirus has had a profound impact on education in America. Learning shifted online overnight, attendance numbers dwindled, and enrollment decreased. SchoolDigger.com is making it easier for you to better assess how COVID-19 has impacted your school. Through the collection of pre-pandemic (2019) and current data, SchoolDigger.com is sharing test scores, enrollment numbers and school demographics from schools across the country – and we make it easy to see how impacted schools compare locally and statewide.

Student Body

	Number of students Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)	Number of students Post pandemic (2022-2023)	Change (%)
Total Students	344	336	2.3%
African American	334	327	2.1%
American Indian	0	0
Asian	0	0
Hispanic	7	6	14.3%
Pacific Islander	0	0
White	3	3
Two or More Races	0	0
% Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	100%	100%

Schools Near Thomas E. Edwards Senior High School

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2024)				Ranking (2023)				MAAP English Language Arts (2024)		MAAP Mathematics (2024)		MAAP Algebra I (2024)	MAAP English II (2024)	MAAP Science (2024)	MAAP Biology (2024)	MAAP U.S. History1 (2024)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2022)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	SchoolDigger Rating (2024)	Average Standard Score (2023)	Statewide Rank (2023)	State Percentile (2023)	Rank Change from Previous Year	MAAP English Language Arts 7th Grade	MAAP English Language Arts 8th Grade	MAAP Mathematics 7th Grade	MAAP Mathematics 8th Grade	MAAP Algebra I End of Course	MAAP English II End of Course	MAAP Science 8th Grade	MAAP Biology End of Course	MAAP U.S. History1 End of Course	Total
Thomas E. Edwards Senior High School	Public	9-12	360 L F Packer Drive	Ruleville	38771	Sunflower County	Sunflower City Cons School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 756-4757	337	30	11.0	100.0%	5 (1.5%)	324 (96.1%)	8 (2.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	16.5	197^th of 228 public high schools	13.6%		17.3	195^th of 226 public high schools	13.7%	2					44.9	29.2		38.5	55.6	$15,582
Cleveland Vocational Technical Complex	Public	8-12	601 Third Street	Cleveland	38732	Bolivar County	Cleveland School District	No	No	No	No	(662) 843-8818	0	10	.0		0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Alternative School	Public	5-12	601 Third Street	Cleveland	38732	Bolivar County	Cleveland School District	No	No	No	No	(662) 846-6478	0	1	.0		0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Cleveland Central High School	Public	9-12	300 W. Sunflower St	Cleveland	38732	Bolivar County	Cleveland School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 843-2460	816	48	17.0	100.0%	104 (12.7%)	643 (78.8%)	26 (3.2%)	5 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	37 (4.5%)	19.7	189^th of 228 public high schools	17.1%		15.1	201^st of 226 public high schools	11.1%	12					42.8	33.8		48.2	49.2	$12,882
Shaw High School	Public	7-12	601 Hwy 61 North	Shaw	38773	Bolivar County	West Bolivar Cons School District	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(662) 754-6109	199	19	10.2	100.0%	4 (2.0%)	195 (98.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)	15.2	17.3	21.8	17.3	30.7	8.8	30.4	25.8	25.9
West Tallahatchie High School	Public	7-12	11510 U. S. Hwy 49 E.	Webb	38966	Tallahatchie County	West Tallahatchie School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 375-8829	291	25	11.6	100.0%	3 (1.0%)	288 (99.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	35	152^nd of 228 public high schools	33.3%		28	163^rd of 226 public high schools	27.9%	11	7.9	13.5	6.1	35.1	60.3	35.0	40.5	69.2	56.4	$20,255
Northside High School	Public	7-12	1305 Martin Luther King Drive	Shelby	38774	Bolivar County	North Bolivar Cons School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 398-2372	365	29	12.5	100.0%	2 (0.5%)	353 (96.7%)	5 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (1.4%)	19.4	190^th of 228 public high schools	16.7%		10.8	208^th of 226 public high schools	8.0%	18	16.7	16.6	16.7	10.6	51.5	36.1	30.3	39.1	47.4	$15,038

Frequently Asked Questions about Thomas E. Edwards Senior High School

How many students attend Thomas E. Edwards Senior High School?

In the 2023-24 school year, 337 students attended Thomas E. Edwards Senior High School.

What is the racial makeup of Thomas E. Edwards Senior High School?

Students at Thomas E. Edwards Senior High School are 96% African American, 2% Hispanic, 1% White.

What district is Thomas E. Edwards Senior High School in?

Sunflower City Cons School District

Is Thomas E. Edwards Senior High School a good school?

Thomas E. Edwards Senior High School ranks in the bottom 13.6% of Mississippi high schools.

Rate Thomas E. Edwards Senior High School!

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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Mississippi Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.