Summary:
Zip code 70084 in Reserve, Louisiana, is home to two schools within the St. John the Baptist Parish school district: East St. John High School (serving grades 9-12) and Fifth Ward Elementary School (serving elementary grades). Both schools serve high-poverty populations, with Fifth Ward Elementary having a higher percentage of students receiving free/reduced lunch (86.93%) compared to East St. John High School (75.48%). The district itself is ranked 56th out of 116 districts in Louisiana, earning a 3-star rating.
East St. John High School is the larger school with 1,293 students and faces significant challenges. Its chronic absenteeism rate of 34% is nearly double the district average, and its graduation rate of 74.1% falls well below the state average of 85%. The school also has a high dropout rate of 8%, more than double the state average. In contrast, Fifth Ward Elementary School (306 students) shows a notable strength in math, with 53% of students proficient, close to state averages. However, it struggles severely in English Language Arts (ELA), where only 38% of students are proficient, creating a 15-point gap between math and reading performance. The elementary school has also seen its ranking drop from the 22nd percentile to the 12th percentile in the last year.
The most critical takeaway is that these two schools require very different interventions. For the high school, the primary issue is student engagement and retention, as the high absenteeism rate is likely driving low academic performance and a high dropout rate. For the elementary school, the focus must be on early literacy, as math instruction appears relatively effective while reading instruction is failing. The high school has been stuck in the bottom 22nd percentile for three consecutive years, suggesting current strategies are not working and a more fundamental change is needed to improve outcomes for students in this area.
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