Jackson Public Schools

About the District

Jackson Public Schools (JPS) is Mississippi’s third-largest school district, serving nearly 17,000 scholars across 35 schools. Located in Jackson, the district organizes its schools into six feeder patterns based on high school attendance zones. 

JPS’s vision is to prepare scholars to achieve globally, contribute locally, and experience personal fulfillment. Its mission is to provide world-class learning experiences that equip scholars with exceptional knowledge, critical skills, and the dispositions needed for lifelong success. The district’s core values include equity, excellence, growth mindset, meaningful relationships, relevance, and a positive, respectful culture.

As part of its commitment to expanding opportunities for scholars, JPS will participate in the Aspen Institute’s Social Mobility Leadership Network (SMLN) because access alone is no longer our measure of success. Across our six high schools- Callaway, Forest Hill, Jim Hill, Lanier, Murrah, and Provine-  we already offer AP, dual enrollment, APAC, Jackson Middle College, and IB. What we are working to close is the distance between enrollment and completion: an IB programme that has not yet produced diploma completions, AP participation that does not mirror our student body, and a dual enrollment pipeline that is strong in pockets and inconsistent across campuses.

These are system problems, not student problems. Our Ascent to 55% campaign, 90-50-20 network standard, and two-tier coaching model are already pushing on them. What a network such as SMLN adds is peers who have solved the identification, advising, and persistence challenges we are still working through, and three years of shared accountability to see the work through.