South Highlands Elementary Magnet School

South Highlands Elementary Magnet School in Shreveport, LA, is a public magnet school serving 504 students in grades PK-5, and it stands as a top-tier academic institution within the Caddo Parish district, which overall ranks in the bottom quarter of Louisiana districts. This school is an academic powerhouse, consistently ranking in the top 1% of all elementary schools in Louisiana for over a decade, earning a 5-star rating every year since at least 2013. Its near-100% proficiency rates in Math and ELA (99% in both for the 2025-2026 school year) are double the district average, and its chronic absenteeism rate is an astoundingly low 1.2%—nearly 26 times lower than the district average of 31.0%. This culture of attendance and high achievement is a hallmark of a deeply effective educational environment.

What truly sets South Highlands apart is its ability to serve all students exceptionally well, ranking in the 99th percentile or higher for every subgroup, including low socio-economic status students. This defeats the common correlation between poverty and lower test scores, proving the school's systems and instruction are so effective they overcome typical challenges. Nearby, a "pocket of excellence" exists with other high-performing magnet and fundamental schools like Eden Gardens Fundamental Elementary School and Fairfield Magnet School, all within 2 miles and sharing similar demographics and stellar results. In contrast, traditional neighborhood schools like Creswell Elementary School and Atkins Technology Elementary School, just a mile or two away, face immense challenges with high poverty rates (79-92%) and proficiency rates often one-third of South Highlands'.

An interesting comparison is Claiborne Fundamental Elementary School, a high-poverty school (62.63% free/reduced lunch) that still ranks 18th in the state and achieves 100% proficiency in Math, suggesting the fundamental school model can be highly effective even with a more economically diverse student body. South Highlands, with its low poverty rate (11.71%), benefits from a more affluent student population, but its unwavering excellence over a decade—never dropping from the top 7 schools in Louisiana—indicates a deeply embedded culture of high expectations and effective leadership. For parents, this school offers a proven, reliable institution of academic excellence where every child is set up for success.