Central Community School District

The Central Community School District in Louisiana is a high-performing, 4-star district serving approximately 4,580 students across five schools, including three elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school, and is ranked 13th out of 116 districts in the state.

Among the standout schools, Central Intermediate School is the academic powerhouse, achieving 82% proficiency in both Math and English Language Arts and an exceptional 79% in Social Studies—24 points above the state average. Central High School is a consistent high performer with a 93.8% graduation rate and a remarkably low 0.6% dropout rate, though it has the district's highest chronic absenteeism at 19.7%. Central Middle School shows a typical "middle school slump" with proficiency dropping to the low-to-mid 70s, but it has a secret weapon: 100% of its 8th graders taking the English I End-of-Course exam were proficient. Tanglewood Elementary School has a history of elite performance, once ranked in the 98th percentile statewide. Bellingrath Hills Elementary School serves the youngest students (PK-K) with the highest free/reduced lunch rate (66.14%) but supports them with the district's lowest student-to-teacher ratio of 11.4:1.

Key takeaways include that the district's chronic absenteeism rate (14.2%) is well below the state average (22.5%), and Social Studies is a district-wide strength. Notably, socioeconomic status does not determine success here; the school with the highest poverty rate (Bellingrath Hills) has the smallest class sizes, while the school with the lowest poverty rate (Central High) struggles with absenteeism. This shows that targeted resources and school level play a crucial role in outcomes.