Elementary Schools in East Baton Rouge Parish

This analysis examines 48 elementary schools in the East Baton Rouge Parish school district, which serves students from Pre-Kindergarten through 8th grade and is ranked 77th out of 116 districts in Louisiana, earning a 2-star rating.

The district is defined by a stark performance divide. A handful of elite magnet schools dramatically outperform the rest. Mayfair Laboratory School is the undisputed top performer, ranked #1 in the state with a 0% dropout rate and a chronic absenteeism rate of just 2.5%. Other top-tier schools include B. R. Foreign Language Acad. Immersion Magnet (99% ELA proficiency), Westdale Heights Academic Magnet School (lowest absenteeism at 1.5%), and Baton Rouge Center for Visual and Performing Arts (82% Math proficiency). In contrast, 22 schools (46%) rank in the bottom 30% of the state. The lowest-ranked school is Sharon Hills Elementary School (#678 out of 690), which has a 43.2% chronic absenteeism rate and very low proficiency rates. Claiborne Elementary School and LaBelle Aire Elementary School also face significant challenges with high poverty rates and low test scores.

Chronic absenteeism is a critical issue, with a district average of 30.5%—well above the state average of 22.5%. Schools with absenteeism below 10% are all top performers, while those above 40% (like Crestworth Elementary School at 51.5% and J. K. Haynes Teacher Prep and Leadership Academy at 50.8%) are almost universally in the bottom 10% of the state. The data also shows that charter schools like Great Hearts Harveston perform well, while others like Inspire Charter Academy struggle with a 48.6% absenteeism rate. Ultimately, the district's overall 2-star rating masks a deep internal divide, where a student's experience can vary dramatically from a world-class education at a magnet school to a school facing immense challenges just a few miles away.