North Webster High School

North Webster High School in Springhill, LA, is a public high school serving 421 students in grades 9-12 within the Webster Parish school district, and it is showing promising signs of improvement after years of low statewide rankings.

North Webster High School is a school in transition, with recent data indicating a positive turnaround. After consistently ranking in the bottom third of Louisiana high schools, the school achieved its highest rank in recent years for the 2025-2026 school year, moving from the 26th percentile to the 39th percentile. This improvement is particularly notable in core subjects: the school's proficiency in English I (73%) and Algebra I (63%) significantly outperforms nearby Haynesville Junior/Senior High School (55% and 72%, respectively), with English I scores well above the state average of 66%. The school also serves a student population with high economic need, as the free/reduced lunch percentage jumped from 42% in 2022-2023 to nearly 69% in 2024-2025.

Despite these academic gains, North Webster faces a significant challenge with chronic absenteeism, which stood at 37.1% in 2024-2025—far higher than the state average of 22.5% and Haynesville's 21.0%. However, this rate has actually decreased from a peak of 40.9% in 2023-2024, and the dropout rate also dropped from 6.1% to 2.9% over the same period. The school's improvement efforts appear to be particularly effective for historically underserved groups, with female, African American, and low socioeconomic status students all showing better rankings than in prior years. The standout performance in English I, compared to lower English II scores, suggests a potential model for success that could be expanded to other subjects.