Middle Schools in Evangeline Parish

The two middle schools in the Evangeline Parish school district, serving grades 5-8 and 6-8, present a stark contrast in academic performance and student challenges. Mamou Junior High is the clear high-performer, earning a 2-star rating and ranking in the 42nd percentile among Louisiana middle schools, while Evangeline Reimagine Academy has received a 0-star rating for three consecutive years, placing it in the bottom 6% of the state.

The performance gap between the two schools is dramatic. In English Language Arts, Mamou Junior High achieves 74% proficiency compared to just 37% at Evangeline Reimagine Academy—a 37-point difference. Similar gaps exist in math (49% vs. 33%) and social studies (51% vs. 20%). Socioeconomic factors appear closely tied to these outcomes, as Evangeline Reimagine Academy has a 95.43% free/reduced lunch rate versus 72.76% at Mamou Junior High. Chronic absenteeism is also a critical issue, with 35.3% of students at Evangeline Reimagine Academy chronically absent—well above the district average of 25.1% and state average of 22.5%. Interestingly, Evangeline Reimagine Academy actually has a more favorable student-teacher ratio (8.6:1) than Mamou Junior High (11.4:1), suggesting staffing levels alone do not explain the performance disparity.

Both schools maintain very low dropout rates (0.6% and 0.8%), well below state and district averages, which is a positive sign for student retention. However, grade-level trends reveal specific challenges: at Mamou Junior High, math proficiency drops sharply from 70% in 6th grade to 36% in 8th grade, while Evangeline Reimagine Academy sees 8th-grade proficiency plummet to just 18% in math and 26% in ELA. For parents, the data clearly shows Mamou Junior High as the stronger academic choice, while Evangeline Reimagine Academy faces significant hurdles related to poverty and attendance that require targeted intervention.