Summary:
The two middle schools in the LaSalle Parish school district, Jena Junior High School and LaSalle Junior High School, serve grades 6 through 8 and are part of a highly-rated district that ranks 8th out of 116 in Louisiana.
LaSalle Junior High School is the standout performer, ranking 18th out of 452 middle schools statewide (96th percentile) with a consistent 5-star rating. It achieves exceptional academic results, with 90% of students proficient in Math and 93% in English Language Arts—far exceeding state averages of 62% and 70%. Notably, its 8th-grade Math proficiency rate is an impressive 95%, compared to the state average of 52%. This top-tier performance occurs despite the school having a higher poverty rate (64.58% free/reduced lunch) and a slightly higher chronic absenteeism rate (28.8%) than the state average. Its smaller enrollment of 144 students and lower student-teacher ratio of 10.9 may contribute to its success.
Jena Junior High School is a solid school with a 4-star rating, ranking 109th in the state (76th percentile). While it outperforms state averages in all subjects, it trails LaSalle Junior High in every academic metric, with the largest gap appearing in 8th-grade Social Studies (58% proficiency vs. 88%). However, Jena is on a clear upward trend, improving its state ranking from the 66th percentile to the 76th percentile over recent years. Both schools face a shared challenge with chronic absenteeism, which is higher than the state average of 22.5%, yet they still manage to deliver strong academic results for their students.
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