Summary:
The six public schools in Chalmette, Louisiana, part of the St. Bernard Parish school district, serve students from Pre-K through 12th grade in a community where a majority of students (66% on average) face economic disadvantage, as measured by free or reduced lunch eligibility.
The clear standout is Lacoste Elementary School, the only school in the city to earn a 4-star rating. It leads in academic performance, with 82% of students proficient in English Language Arts—12 points above both the district and state averages—and boasts the lowest chronic absenteeism rate in the city at just 9.7%. In contrast, Arlene Meraux Elementary School and Andrew Jackson Middle School consistently underperform, with Arlene Meraux dropping from the 42nd to the 23rd percentile in state rankings over three years. The most challenged school is C.F. Rowley Alternative School, which ranks in the bottom 1% of high schools statewide, with a 47.6% graduation rate and a 63.7% chronic absenteeism rate—metrics that significantly drag down city-wide averages.
Despite these challenges, the traditional feeder pattern shows a success story: while Andrew Jackson Middle School is a 2-star school, students who move on to Chalmette High School achieve a strong 92.6% graduation rate and a very low 0.8% dropout rate. Chalmette Elementary School also performs well, with a favorable 11:1 student-teacher ratio and the second-lowest absenteeism rate (15.1%). Overall, chronic absenteeism emerges as the defining challenge for the district, with a clear link between low attendance and poor academic outcomes, making it the most critical metric for improvement.
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