Summary:
Zip code 70813 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is home to two alternative schools within the Southern University Lab School district, serving students from Pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade with a total enrollment of 777 students.
The standout school in this area is Southern University Lab School, an in-person institution that acts as an academic powerhouse. It boasts a high graduation rate of 91.7% and a very low dropout rate of 1.5%, both significantly better than state averages. This school excels in core subjects, with 83% proficiency in English Language Arts and 68% in Social Studies, far outpacing the state. In contrast, Southern University Laboratory Virtual School offers a unique virtual model with a perfect 0.0% chronic absenteeism rate, a remarkable achievement compared to the state average of 22.5%. However, it presents a paradox: while students are highly engaged, its dropout rate is 7.7%, more than double the state average. The virtual school also shows a split in math performance, struggling in elementary grades but achieving 78% proficiency in Algebra I, matching its in-person counterpart in high school subjects.
Key metrics reveal a tale of two specialized schools. The in-person lab school serves a slightly less economically disadvantaged population (63.18% free/reduced lunch) and maintains a strong student-to-teacher ratio of 14.9:1. The virtual school, serving a higher percentage of economically disadvantaged students (71.91%), excels in high school End-of-Course exams, with 95% proficiency in English I and 88% in English II. Both schools are classified as "alternative," but their data suggests they are high-performing, specialized institutions rather than remedial programs. The in-person school is a standout in social studies, with 91% proficiency in 4th grade, while the virtual school demonstrates that its model can close achievement gaps for older students in specific subjects, despite overall math proficiency of 41% being below the state average of 62%.
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