Baskin School

Baskin School is a small, rural elementary school in Baskin, LA, serving 325 students in grades PK through 8 within the Franklin Parish school district, where about 78% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch.

One of the school's standout strengths is its exceptionally low chronic absenteeism rate of 14.5%, which is dramatically better than the district average of 31.4% and the state average of 22.5%. This is the lowest rate among all comparable schools in the area—for example, nearby Gilbert School has a 44% chronic absenteeism rate. Baskin also shines in early elementary grades, particularly 3rd grade, where students achieved 78% proficiency in Math and 72% in English Language Arts (ELA) in the 2025-2026 school year. These scores are competitive with top-performing schools like Mangham Elementary School (77% Math proficiency), which is ranked in the 78th percentile statewide. Within Franklin Parish, Baskin is a consistent leader, outperforming Fort Necessity School, Crowville School, and Winnsboro Elementary School in nearly every academic metric.

However, a critical concern is the sharp decline in academic performance as students move into upper grades. While 3rd grade is a clear strength, 4th-grade math proficiency drops to just 28%, and 8th-grade math falls to 23%—far below state averages. This pattern is less pronounced at higher-performing schools like Holly Ridge Elementary School and Mangham Elementary, which maintain strong scores across all tested grades. On a positive note, the school has shown promising progress in closing achievement gaps, with African American students jumping from the 15th percentile in 2023-2024 to the 51st percentile in 2025-2026. While Baskin is a strong performer within Franklin Parish, it is significantly outpaced by schools in the neighboring Richland Parish, such as Mangham Elementary (85% ELA proficiency vs. Baskin's 65%), suggesting that district-level factors may play a major role in student outcomes.