Best Public Schools in Berwick, LA

The city of Berwick, Louisiana, is served by three public schools—Berwick Elementary School, Berwick Junior High School, and Berwick High School—all part of the St. Mary Parish school district, which holds a 3-star rating and ranks in the 55th percentile statewide. These schools serve a total of 1,214 students from elementary through high school, offering a range of academic experiences that vary significantly by grade level.

Berwick Elementary School is the standout performer, earning a 4-star rating from SchoolDigger and ranking in the 80th percentile or higher for three consecutive years. It achieves exceptional test scores—87% proficiency in math and 80% in English Language Arts—despite having the highest percentage of students receiving free or reduced lunch (62.86%). This school also boasts the lowest chronic absenteeism rate in the city at 13.5% and the smallest class sizes with a 12.9:1 student-teacher ratio. In contrast, Berwick High School presents a mixed picture: it excels at graduating students (91.8% graduation rate, well above the state average) and has a very low dropout rate of 1.4%, but struggles with chronic absenteeism at 28.8%—more than double the elementary school’s rate—and shows weakness in Algebra I and Geometry proficiency. Berwick Junior High School serves as a reliable bridge, with solid math (74%) and ELA (80%) proficiency, a 0.0% dropout rate, and moderate chronic absenteeism of 19.3%.

A key takeaway is that the school with the highest economic need—Berwick Elementary—outperforms the others, suggesting that school culture and instructional strategies are powerful drivers of success. The high school’s high graduation rate but low math proficiency points to a potential disconnect between incoming skills and coursework demands. Chronic absenteeism is the most critical differentiator, with the elementary school modeling strong attendance while the high school faces a crisis-level rate of 28.8%. Addressing this issue at the high school level could be the most impactful change for the district.