Middle Schools in Vernon Parish

Vernon Parish, Louisiana, is home to two middle schools—Leesville Junior High School (grades 7-8) and Vernon Middle School (grades 5-6)—serving a high-poverty area where the district itself ranks in the top 20% of Louisiana school districts.

These two schools present very different profiles. Leesville Junior High is a standout for its exceptional Algebra I program, with 93% of students scoring proficient or above—far exceeding district and state averages. However, it struggles with a chronic absenteeism rate of 36.2%, well above the state average of 22.5%. In contrast, Vernon Middle School has a much lower absenteeism rate of 24.9% but shows a critical weakness in Social Studies, where only 38% of students are proficient—16 points below the district average. Both schools perform well in English Language Arts, with Leesville Junior High at 76% and Vernon Middle at 73%, both exceeding the state average of 70%.

Key takeaways for parents: Leesville Junior High offers a strong advanced math track but has a significant attendance problem, while Vernon Middle provides more stable attendance but needs improvement in Social Studies. Both schools have favorable student-teacher ratios (13.2:1 and 12.5:1, respectively) and serve similar socioeconomic populations, with about 68-72% of students receiving free or reduced lunch. The Vernon Parish district overall is highly rated, but these two schools show that academic strengths and challenges can vary significantly even within the same district.