Summary:
The city of Raceland, Louisiana, is served by four public schools within the highly-ranked Lafourche Parish school district, educating approximately 2,228 students from Pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade, with all schools facing significant economic challenges as indicated by high free and reduced lunch rates.
The standout school in Raceland is Raceland Upper Elementary School, which achieves the highest academic proficiency in the city despite having the highest poverty rate (78.15%). It ranks in the 83rd percentile of Louisiana elementary schools, with 81% proficiency in both Math and ELA. In contrast, Raceland Middle School shows a sharp academic decline, with Math proficiency dropping from 81% to 67% and ELA from 81% to 74%, indicating a challenging transition for students. Central Lafourche High School is the largest school (1,307 students) and excels in graduation rates (93.3%) and core subjects like Algebra I (83%), but struggles with Geometry (50% proficiency) and has the highest chronic absenteeism rate (31%). Raceland Lower Elementary School has the lowest chronic absenteeism rate (24.3%) among the schools, though it still exceeds the state average.
A critical systemic issue across all Raceland schools is chronic absenteeism, with every school exceeding the state average of 22.5%, ranging from 24.3% at the lower elementary to 31% at the high school. This is a major red flag for parents, as it strongly correlates with lower academic achievement. While Central Lafourche High School boasts strong graduation and low dropout rates, its state ranking has declined from the 77th to the 64th percentile, and its test scores show significant year-over-year volatility, such as Geometry dropping from 73% to 50% proficiency. Overall, Raceland schools demonstrate that high performance is possible despite poverty, as seen at the upper elementary, but the middle school slump and widespread absenteeism are key areas of concern for families.
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