Best Elementary Schools in Zip Code 70634

There are three elementary schools in zip code 70634 (DeRidder, LA) serving grades Pre-K through 5th grade within the Beauregard Parish school district, which itself holds a solid 3-star rating. East Beauregard Elementary School is the standout performer, earning a 3-star rating and ranking in the 67th percentile statewide. It leads all local schools in academic proficiency, particularly in English Language Arts (76%) and Social Studies (64%), and is the only school showing a multi-year upward trend in its state ranking. In contrast, K.R. Hanchey Elementary School faces the most significant challenges, with the highest chronic absenteeism rate (27.2%) and the highest percentage of students receiving free/reduced lunch (66.86%), though it serves only grades PK-1 where standardized tests are not administered. DeRidder Elementary School serves grades 2-4 and has the largest enrollment (490 students), earning a 2-star rating and ranking in the 42nd percentile.

Key metrics reveal a clear pattern: the school with the lowest economic disadvantage rate (East Beauregard at 56.94%) achieves the highest test scores and lowest absenteeism (18.0%), while the school with the highest poverty rate (K.R. Hanchey at 66.86%) struggles with the highest absenteeism. Interestingly, East Beauregard achieves its strong results despite having the least favorable student-teacher ratio (15.3:1), while K.R. Hanchey has the most favorable ratio (9.6:1) but faces the greatest non-academic hurdles. This suggests that factors like poverty and attendance are more powerful predictors of school performance than class size in this area.

A notable bright spot is DeRidder Elementary's 4th-grade Mathematics performance, where it achieves a 73% proficiency rate—outperforming both the district (69%) and state (67%) averages. This indicates a specific area of instructional strength within an otherwise lower-performing school. Overall, the district shows polarized performance, with East Beauregard as a strong asset and DeRidder Elementary as a significant drag on the district's average, suggesting uneven distribution of resources or student challenges within the same system.