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Cherokee Elementary School

Public Grades PK, KG-5
353rd
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 699 Louisiana Elementary Schools
Better than 49% of Louisiana elementary schools
Summary

Cherokee Elementary School in Alexandria, LA, serves 576 students in grades PK-5 within the Rapides Parish school district, a 4-star district, and is a solid, average-performing school in a community where over 84% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch.

Cherokee stands out as a rare "middle-of-the-pack" option in a neighborhood with highly polarized school performance. While nearby Phoenix Magnet Elementary (99th percentile) and Peabody Montessori Elementary (86th percentile) are top-tier, and schools like Horseshoe Drive Elementary (10th percentile) struggle, Cherokee ranks in the 49th percentile statewide. A key strength is its consistent performance in English Language Arts, where it often beats the state average. The school also showed remarkable improvement with its Hispanic students, jumping from the 17th percentile to the 78th percentile in one year. However, a significant challenge is its Special Education program, which ranks in the 22nd percentile, a downward trend from previous years. Chronic absenteeism, at 22.3%, is improving but remains higher than the district average of 17.5% and far above low-absenteeism schools like J.B. Nachman Elementary (7.7%).

A notable pattern is a "5th grade cliff," where test scores drop sharply in math and social studies compared to 3rd and 4th grade, suggesting a potential transition issue. While Cherokee is not a top-tier school, it provides a stable educational option that is demonstrably better than several immediate neighbors, particularly in reading. For parents, this school offers a balanced environment with clear strengths in early literacy and targeted support for Hispanic students, but it also has areas needing attention, especially for special education and upper-grade performance.

576
Students ?
13.7
Student/teacher ratio ?
$14,135
Per pupil spending ?
84.5%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 5700 Prescott Road
       Alexandria, LA  71301

(318) 442-1987

District: Rapides Parish


Students who attend Cherokee Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:    Scott M. Brame Middle School
High:    Alexandria Senior High School
Racial breakdown:

African American:
47.6%
White:
26.2%
Hispanic:
14.9%
more
 See top rated Louisiana elementary schools

 Compare Cherokee Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 43rd percentile in 2016 → 49th in 2026
Strengths
✓Ranking is trending up — up 6 percentile points since 2016
Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?
This school61%
District avg67%
Louisiana avg62%
353rd of 699
Louisiana public elementary schools ?
Bottom 49%▲ up 7 pts since 2016
From bottom 43% (2016) to bottom 49% (2026)
See the entire ranking list of Louisiana Elementary Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
14th of 23Elementary Schools in the Rapides Parish
27th of 119Rapides 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
202649.9353 of 69949.5%★★☆☆☆
202547.0375 of 66643.7%★★☆☆☆
202454.1337 of 67550.1%★★★☆☆
202349.7385 of 73047.3%★★☆☆☆
202259.6311 of 72757.2%★★★☆☆
202165.1262 of 72964.1%★★★☆☆
201960.1314 of 73157.0%★★★☆☆
201847.3363 of 72850.1%★★★☆☆
201751.6407 of 73944.9%★★☆☆☆
201648.3426 of 74242.6%★★☆☆☆
201551.0423 of 79246.6%★★☆☆☆
201460.6333 of 77757.1%★★★☆☆
201355.7364 of 77252.8%★★★☆☆
201251.9407 of 76446.7%★★☆☆☆
201165.8297 of 76661.2%★★★☆☆
201078.3160 of 73678.3%★★★★☆
200980.7126 of 73882.9%★★★★☆
200878.9140 of 74381.2%★★★★☆
200780.2129 of 72582.2%★★★★☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankLouisiana percentileRating
202659.5194 of 55665.1%★★★☆☆
202553.3226 of 50154.9%★★★☆☆
202452.0236 of 50953.6%★★★☆☆
202354.6240 of 57057.9%★★★☆☆
202266.9142 of 56274.7%★★★★☆
202175.399 of 56482.4%★★★★☆
201967.7153 of 55972.6%★★★★☆
201866.0156 of 54771.5%★★★★☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankLouisiana percentileRating
202651.6344 of 68850.0%★★★☆☆
202542.6382 of 63339.7%★★☆☆☆
202447.0367 of 63542.2%★★☆☆☆
202342.8423 of 70540.0%★★☆☆☆
202254.3333 of 70152.5%★★★☆☆
202161.4300 of 70557.4%★★★☆☆
201951.7355 of 68448.1%★★☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankLouisiana percentileRating
202673.362 of 27377.3%★★★★☆
202526.2172 of 20716.9%★☆☆☆☆
202431.5137 of 18927.5%★☆☆☆☆
202363.083 of 23364.4%★★★☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankLouisiana percentileRating
202651.1333 of 69351.9%★★★☆☆
202545.9382 of 66142.2%★★☆☆☆
202456.0314 of 67453.4%★★★☆☆
202353.2348 of 72351.9%★★★☆☆
202263.0259 of 72464.2%★★★☆☆
202166.1238 of 71966.9%★★★☆☆
201964.0261 of 69762.6%★★★☆☆
201861.9269 of 68260.6%★★★☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankLouisiana percentileRating
202647.7364 of 69047.2%★★☆☆☆
202542.7392 of 64138.8%★★☆☆☆
202454.3321 of 65150.7%★★★☆☆
202353.8357 of 71349.9%★★★☆☆
202262.8271 of 71261.9%★★★☆☆
202165.0249 of 70464.6%★★★☆☆
201965.3275 of 69660.5%★★★☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankLouisiana percentileRating
202636.8258 of 40736.6%★★☆☆☆
202522.9200 of 24117.0%★☆☆☆☆
202349.2141 of 29652.4%★★★☆☆
202265.789 of 30771.0%★★★★☆
202155.8123 of 30659.8%★★★☆☆
201948.8165 of 33350.5%★★★☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankLouisiana percentileRating
202649.1270 of 50246.2%★★☆☆☆
202526.8362 of 43116.0%★☆☆☆☆
202445.4273 of 43437.1%★★☆☆☆
202333.8393 of 51824.1%★☆☆☆☆
202244.1330 of 51736.2%★★☆☆☆
202162.9189 of 52263.8%★★★☆☆
201939.1364 of 51729.6%★★☆☆☆
201844.6329 of 51636.2%★★☆☆☆
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)
Hispanic (2026)77th percentile+28 vs school
African American (2026)65th percentile+16 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2026)52nd percentile~ school
Female (2026)50th percentile~ school
Male (2026)47th percentile~ school
White (2026)46th percentile-3 vs school
Special Education (2026)37th percentile-13 vs school
By subject vs Louisiana (2025-2026) ?
English Language Arts72%~ state avg
Science61%~ state avg
Social Studies59%+4 vs state
Mathematics53%-9 vs state

5.0
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What people are saying
by a parent
Sunday, August 2, 2009

Open Quote Great teacher and hard working principal kids are really challenged. Close Quote





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Frequently Asked Questions about Cherokee Elementary School

Students at Cherokee Elementary School are 48% African American, 26% White, 15% Hispanic, 7% Two or more races, 4% Asian.

Cherokee Elementary School ranks 353rd of 699 Louisiana elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

In the 2024-25 school year, 576 students attended Cherokee Elementary School.

Students who attend Cherokee Elementary School usually go on to attend:

Middle : Scott M. Brame Middle School
High : Alexandria Senior High School

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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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