Ouachita Parish

The Ouachita Parish school district in Louisiana serves approximately 15,000 students across 36 public schools, including 22 elementary, 9 middle, and 5 high schools, and is ranked 38th out of 116 districts in the state with a solid 3-star rating.

The district is defined by a stark performance gap, with standout schools like Sterlington High School ranking in the 96th percentile statewide and achieving a 0% dropout rate, while West Monroe High School struggles with a 36.5% chronic absenteeism rate—the highest in the district. The "Sterlington Pipeline" shows consistent excellence from Sterlington Elementary (80th percentile) through Sterlington Middle School (78th percentile) to the high school, while West Ridge Middle School (93rd percentile) and Boley Elementary School (93rd percentile) also rank among the state's best. In contrast, high-poverty schools like Robinson Elementary and Richwood High School consistently rank at the bottom, though Boley Elementary defies this trend by achieving top-tier results despite a 78.85% free/reduced lunch rate.

Key metrics reveal a district with a strong graduation rate of 91.6% (well above the state's 85%) and a low dropout rate of 1.4%, but chronic absenteeism varies wildly from under 9% at Drew Elementary to over 36% at West Monroe High School. An interesting bright spot is that struggling middle schools like Riser Middle School and Woodlawn Middle School both achieved 100% proficiency in Algebra I, showing pockets of excellence even in lower-ranked schools. Overall, the district's 3-star rating masks a tale of two districts: high-performing, lower-poverty schools in the West Monroe/Sterlington area and struggling, high-poverty schools in the Monroe/Richwood area.