Summary:
There are five elementary schools in zip code 70053 (Gretna, LA), serving grades Pre-K through 5th (with one school extending to 8th grade), all part of the Jefferson Parish school district, and they present an extreme performance divide that makes school choice critical for families in this area.
Two schools stand out as elite performers: Gretna No. 2 Academy for Advanced Studies is ranked #5 in the state (99th percentile) with a 5-star rating, achieving 99% proficiency in Social Studies and 100% in 3rd-grade Math, while Ruppel Academie Francaise is ranked #15 (98th percentile) with near-perfect test scores across multiple grades and a 0.0% dropout rate. In stark contrast, McDonogh 26/Homedale Elementary School ranks #627 out of 690 (9th percentile) with a 0-star rating, and William Hart Elementary School ranks #557 (19th percentile) with a 1-star rating, both struggling significantly below district and state averages. Shirley Johnson/Gretna Park Elementary School sits in the middle, ranked #451 (35th percentile) with a 2-star rating, though it shows bright spots in 4th-grade Math (73% proficient) and ELA (68% proficient) that exceed district averages.
The most telling metric is chronic absenteeism: top schools average just 5.4% absenteeism, while lower-performing schools average 29.2%—a 5.4x difference that strongly predicts academic outcomes. Interestingly, lower-performing schools have smaller class sizes (11.9:1 average) compared to top performers (16.2:1), suggesting teacher quality and curriculum matter more than class size alone. Ruppel Academie Francaise is a standout anomaly, achieving top-20 state rankings despite 60.5% of students qualifying for free/reduced lunch, defying the typical link between poverty and low performance through its specialized French immersion program.
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