Education

Public Schools

The Petal School District is one of the few districts awarded the State of Mississippi's highest accreditation. The District offers its students innovative academic and technical programs, modern facilities, a comprehensive curriculum, and a highly qualified and experienced teaching staff. Petal's Polymer Science Technology Program is one of only four high school programs in the United States. The high school offers ten other occupational technology programs as well, beginning as early as the seventh grade and encompassing subjects from allied health to food production. Visit their website at www.petalschools.com.

Special Needs

Elementary programs place strong emphasis on reading and phonics and include services for students with special needs, such as language disorder classrooms, a gifted studies program, and voluntary group learning experiences. A student incentive program and tech prep curriculum are introduced at the middle school, where students begin to develop a plan for identifying career goals.  Petal is home to the only dedicated Dyslexia school in the state of Mississippi. 

Parenting

Believing that education begins at birth, the Petal School District also facilitates early intervention programs. At the center of this effort is the Petal Parenting Center, which serves newborns through adults with programs such as newborn packets, childcare training, and parenting resources.

Adult Education

Adult education also is abundantly available through area colleges and universities, community colleges, business training programs, and The University of Southern Mississippi's Continuing Education and Learning in Retirement programs.

In addition to the University of Southern Mississippi, three other local campuses offer quality education alternatives. These include William Carey College in Hattiesburg, Jones Junior College in nearby Ellisville, and the Vocational Technical facilities of Pearl River Community College in Hattiesburg.