Summary:
Zip code 71118 in Shreveport, Louisiana, is home to two high schools serving grades 9-12: Southwood High School and Pathways in Education-Louisiana Inc., both part of the Caddo Parish school district and serving a student population where over 70% qualify for free or reduced lunch.
Southwood High School is the area's traditional public high school and the clear academic anchor, enrolling 971 students. It significantly outperforms its counterpart, ranking in the 19th percentile statewide compared to Pathways' 5th percentile. Southwood boasts a strong 89.1% graduation rate and a low 1.9% dropout rate, though it struggles with a 41.5% chronic absenteeism rate. Its strongest subject is Algebra I, where 58% of students are proficient, exceeding the district average. In contrast, Pathways in Education-Louisiana Inc., an alternative school with 307 students, reports extreme and contradictory data: a 0.0% chronic absenteeism rate alongside a 22.9% dropout rate and a staggering 930.3:1 student-teacher ratio. This suggests a non-traditional, likely online or self-paced model where attendance is not measured conventionally, but student disengagement is very high, resulting in a 31.5% graduation rate.
The most important takeaway for parents is the stark contrast between these two schools serving a similar high-poverty population. Southwood High School, despite its own challenges with absenteeism and below-state-average test scores, provides a structured environment with a 14.5:1 student-teacher ratio and successfully graduates nearly 9 out of 10 students. Pathways in Education-Louisiana Inc. appears to serve as a last-resort option for the most at-risk students, but its current model, with minimal direct teacher support, is failing to re-engage the majority. Both schools rank in the bottom quarter of Louisiana high schools, and their district, Caddo Parish, ranks in the bottom 26% of districts statewide, indicating significant systemic educational challenges in the area.
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