Summary:
Bush, Louisiana, is home to a single public school, Fifth Ward Junior High School, which serves 440 students from Pre-Kindergarten through 8th grade as part of the high-performing St. Tammany Parish school district.
Despite its "Junior High" name, this school offers a unique PK-8 configuration, creating a close-knit educational environment from early childhood through middle school. The school consistently outperforms both state and district averages in core subjects, earning a 4-star rating and ranking in the 77th percentile statewide. Its strongest subject is English Language Arts, where proficiency rates across all tested grades range from 69% to 91%, indicating a robust literacy program. Mathematics is also a strength overall, with 75% of students proficient, though there are notable dips in 3rd grade (56% proficiency) and 8th grade (60% proficiency) that parents should be aware of. The school's standout performance occurs in 7th grade, where students achieved an exceptional 92% proficiency in Math and 86% in Social Studies, far exceeding district and state averages.
With a very low student-teacher ratio of 10.1:1, students benefit from small class sizes and individualized attention. The school serves a community where 52.27% of students are economically disadvantaged, yet it maintains a remarkably low dropout rate of just 1.0%—less than a third of the district and state averages. Chronic absenteeism sits at 22.1%, slightly above the district but in line with the state. While the school's state ranking has slipped slightly from the 88th to the 77th percentile in recent years, its actual test scores have remained stable or improved, suggesting other schools are improving faster rather than any decline in quality at Fifth Ward Junior High School.
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