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Jena Junior High School

Public Grades 6-8
102nd
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 464 Louisiana Middle Schools
Better than 78% of Louisiana middle schools
Summary

Jena Junior High School in Jena, LA, serves 288 students in grades 6 through 8 and is part of the highly-rated LaSalle Parish school district, which ranks in the 93rd percentile statewide. The school holds a solid 4-star rating, performing above the state average in core subjects like math (74% proficient), English language arts (87% proficient), and social studies (65% proficient). However, it faces a significant challenge with chronic absenteeism, which at 28.1% is notably higher than the state average of 22.5%, suggesting that while instruction is effective for students who attend regularly, getting all students to school consistently is a key area for improvement.

Compared to the district’s other middle school, LaSalle Junior High School (located 15.66 miles away), Jena Junior High shows a clear academic gap. LaSalle Junior High is a top-performing school with a 5-star rating and 96th percentile rank, outperforming Jena in every subject—most notably in 8th-grade social studies (88% vs. 58% proficient) and 8th-grade math (95% vs. 67% proficient). Despite Jena having double the enrollment (288 vs. 144 students), it has a slightly higher student-to-teacher ratio (12.5:1 vs. 10.9:1), which may mean less individualized attention. Interestingly, LaSalle serves a higher percentage of students from low-income families (64.58% vs. 57.29%), making its superior results even more noteworthy.

Jena Junior High has several standout strengths. It has maintained a perfect 0.0% dropout rate for four of the last five years, far better than district and state averages. The school also shows consistent excellence with male students, earning a 4-star rating for three consecutive years. A remarkable recent trend is the dramatic improvement for one student group, which jumped from average performance to a 78th percentile ranking in the latest data. Meanwhile, performance for another group has seen a slight decline, creating an uneven distribution of gains. Overall, Jena Junior High is a school with strong academic foundations and a commitment to keeping students enrolled, but it must address attendance issues to unlock its full potential.

288
Students ?
12.5
Student/teacher ratio ?
$15,757
Per pupil spending ?
57.3%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 114 E. Southern Ave.
       Jena, LA  71342

(318) 992-5815

District: LaSalle Parish


Students who attend Jena Junior High School usually attend:

High:    Jena High School
    LaSalle High School

Feeder schools for Jena Junior High School:

Elementary:    Fellowship Elementary School
    Goodpine Middle School
    Jena Elementary School
    Nebo Elementary School
    More...
Racial breakdown:

White:
77.1%
African American:
13.5%
Two or more races:
5.9%
more
 See top rated Louisiana middle schools

 Compare Jena Junior High School to nearby middle schools!
At a glance
▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 80th percentile in 2016 → 78th in 2026
Strengths
✓Test scores above the Louisiana average (74% vs 62% meeting standards)
✓Ranks in the top 22% of Louisiana middle schools
Worth a look
!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing
Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?
This school74%
District avg75%
Louisiana avg62%
102nd of 464
Louisiana public middle schools ?
Top 22%▼ down 2 pts since 2016
See the entire ranking list of Louisiana Middle Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
2nd of 2Middle Schools in the LaSalle Parish
8th of 119LaSalle Parish among Louisiana districts
Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankLouisiana percentileRating
202676.6102 of 46478.0%★★★★☆
202569.7138 of 44769.1%★★★☆☆
202466.4152 of 44966.1%★★★☆☆
202365.3157 of 46566.2%★★★☆☆
202271.5124 of 46073.0%★★★★☆
202180.973 of 45984.1%★★★★☆
201981.380 of 44982.2%★★★★☆
201868.698 of 41176.2%★★★★☆
201781.764 of 43785.4%★★★★☆
201677.785 of 43580.5%★★★★☆
201574.7103 of 48278.6%★★★★☆
201467.4147 of 47068.7%★★★☆☆
201368.4141 of 45769.1%★★★☆☆
201280.563 of 44285.7%★★★★☆
201166.0148 of 41264.1%★★★☆☆
201064.8164 of 40859.8%★★★☆☆
200974.997 of 42577.2%★★★★☆
200874.098 of 41376.3%★★★★☆
200757.6192 of 39651.5%★★★☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankLouisiana percentileRating
202665.898 of 36272.9%★★★★☆
202548.6165 of 34452.0%★★★☆☆
202453.4147 of 33355.9%★★★☆☆
202342.2201 of 36044.2%★★☆☆☆
202252.1153 of 36057.5%★★★☆☆
202166.284 of 35276.1%★★★★☆
201948.5168 of 33850.3%★★★☆☆
201856.0118 of 31362.3%★★★☆☆

Disabled

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankLouisiana percentileRating
201848.581 of 17052.4%★★★☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankLouisiana percentileRating
202670.5120 of 45073.3%★★★★☆
202565.5138 of 41566.7%★★★☆☆
202467.9131 of 41568.4%★★★☆☆
202368.3132 of 44470.3%★★★★☆
202276.390 of 44179.6%★★★★☆
202180.568 of 44184.6%★★★★☆
201979.775 of 41882.1%★★★★☆

Homeless

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankLouisiana percentileRating
202658.512 of 2958.6%★★★☆☆
202558.96 of 1866.7%★★★★☆
202469.95 of 2277.3%★★★★☆
202346.412 of 2040.0%★★☆☆☆
202240.116 of 2944.8%★★☆☆☆
202146.112 of 2142.9%★★☆☆☆
201965.98 of 2263.6%★★★★☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankLouisiana percentileRating
202673.995 of 45879.3%★★★★☆
202558.0176 of 43759.7%★★★☆☆
202467.4132 of 44470.3%★★★★☆
202365.6138 of 45969.9%★★★★☆
202265.1137 of 45870.1%★★★★☆
202184.551 of 45588.8%★★★★☆
201974.899 of 43077.0%★★★★☆
201868.1116 of 40371.2%★★★★☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankLouisiana percentileRating
202678.184 of 44681.2%★★★★☆
202574.0108 of 41473.9%★★★★☆
202468.9127 of 42670.2%★★★★☆
202362.9163 of 44363.2%★★★☆☆
202262.2163 of 44263.1%★★★☆☆
202177.787 of 44280.3%★★★★☆
201974.4101 of 41875.8%★★★★☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankLouisiana percentileRating
202144.5105 of 21050.0%★★★☆☆
201959.558 of 20271.3%★★★★☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankLouisiana percentileRating
202663.6118 of 34565.8%★★★☆☆
202557.5148 of 31653.2%★★★☆☆
202465.4106 of 32066.9%★★★☆☆
202359.1143 of 35259.4%★★★☆☆
202262.4138 of 36261.9%★★★☆☆
202178.460 of 35883.2%★★★★☆
201977.257 of 35083.7%★★★★☆
201866.2112 of 33866.9%★★★☆☆
How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)
Male (2026)81st percentile+3 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2026)79th percentile~ school
Female (2026)73rd percentile-5 vs school
African American (2026)73rd percentile-5 vs school
White (2026)66th percentile-12 vs school
Homeless (2026)59th percentile-19 vs school
Disabled (2018)52nd percentile-24 vs school
Special Education (2021)50th percentile-34 vs school
By subject vs Louisiana (2025-2026) ?
English Language Arts87%+17 vs state
Mathematics74%+12 vs state
Science72%+13 vs state
Social Studies65%+10 vs state

★
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Frequently Asked Questions about Jena Junior High School

Jena Junior High School ranks 102nd of 464 Louisiana middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

Students who attend Jena Junior High School usually go on to attend Jena High School

Students at Jena Junior High School are 77% White, 14% African American, 6% Two or more races, 2% American Indian, 1% Hispanic.

In the 2024-25 school year, 288 students attended Jena Junior High School.

Rate Jena Junior High School!



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Schools in Jena, LA

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Latest Louisiana data All new data »
2025–26 LEAP test scoresJul 6, 2026
2023–24 dropout ratesFeb 24, 2026
2023–24 school spending dataDec 1, 2025
2023–24 through 2024–25 graduation ratesNov 22, 2025


SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Louisiana Dept of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.

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