Mamou Junior High

Mamou Junior High serves 290 students in grades 5 through 8 in the Evangeline Parish school district, where about 73% of students come from low-income families. The school has earned a consistent 2-star rating from the state, placing it in the lower-middle tier of Louisiana middle schools, but a closer look reveals some standout strengths and specific challenges that set it apart from nearby schools.

The school's biggest strength is in English Language Arts (ELA), where 74% of students are proficient—higher than the state average and the best among comparable schools like Church Point Middle School (48%) and Evangeline Reimagine Academy (37%). However, math performance tells a different story: while 5th and 6th graders score near or above state averages, proficiency drops sharply in 7th grade (39%) and 8th grade (36%), a pattern not seen at Plaisance Middle School, where math scores improve in later grades. The school has also made impressive progress with African American students, whose ranking jumped from the 16th percentile to the 47th percentile in just two years. On the other hand, special education students remain the lowest-performing subgroup, ranking in the 29th percentile despite recent improvement.

Chronic absenteeism is a regional problem, but Mamou's rate of 24.8% is actually the lowest among its peers—far better than Church Point Middle (39.4%) and Central Middle School (34.9%). The school also boasts a very low dropout rate of 0.6%, well below the district and state averages. While the 7th-grade math decline is a clear area for improvement, Mamou's strong ELA performance and ability to keep students engaged make it a school with notable bright spots in a challenging region.