Elementary Schools in Tangipahoa Parish

The 17 elementary schools in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, serve a wide range of grades from Pre-K through 8th grade in a district ranked 92nd out of 116 in the state, with most schools facing high levels of economic disadvantage.

The standout school is Southeastern LA University Lab School, which is an extreme outlier with a 5-star state ranking, 88% math proficiency, and a remarkably low 2.3% chronic absenteeism rate—far outperforming the district average of 30.5%. In contrast, Independence Leadership Academy and Woodland Park Magnet are the most struggling schools, both earning 0-star ratings with math proficiency below 31% and poverty rates near 90%. A rising star is Spring Creek Elementary School, which achieves a 3-star rating and outperforms state averages in math and ELA despite a 68.84% poverty rate, proving that effective leadership can overcome socioeconomic barriers. Champ Cooper Elementary School also stands out as a consistent 2-star performer with solid math (58%) and ELA (68%) scores and lower chronic absenteeism (20.2%) than the state average.

Key metrics reveal systemic challenges: the average chronic absenteeism rate across these schools is 29.1%, well above the state average of 22.5%, with Midway Elementary School (39.6%) and Independence Leadership Academy (38%) having the highest rates. Average proficiency rates are below state benchmarks: 51% in math (state: 62%), 60% in ELA (state: 70%), and 45% in social studies (state: 55%). An interesting finding is that several schools, including Hammond Eastside Magnet and Champ Cooper Elementary School, show 100% proficiency on End-of-Course exams like Algebra I, likely because only top students take those tests, masking overall performance issues. Additionally, grade-level performance drops are common, such as at Champ Cooper Elementary School, where math proficiency falls from 70% in 3rd grade to 46% in 8th grade, suggesting cumulative learning gaps.