Summary:
Zip code 71203 in Monroe, Louisiana, is home to two high schools—Ouachita Parish High School and Sterlington High School—serving grades 9 through 12 within the Ouachita Parish School District, which holds a 3-star rating and ranks in the top third of Louisiana districts.
The standout school in this area is Sterlington High School, a top-20 institution ranked 14th out of 325 high schools statewide (96th percentile) with a 5-star rating. It dramatically outperforms Ouachita Parish High School in every academic subject: for example, 91% of Sterlington students are proficient in English I versus 63% at Ouachita, and 83% are proficient in Geometry compared to just 48%. Sterlington also boasts a 0.0% dropout rate and lower chronic absenteeism (14.2% versus 21.8%). In contrast, Ouachita Parish High School ranks 174th (46th percentile) with a 2-star rating, though it maintains a solid graduation rate of 90.6%, well above the state average of 85.0%. The two schools serve very different student populations: Ouachita Parish High is larger (1,112 students) with 69.42% eligible for free/reduced lunch, while Sterlington High has 513 students with 40.94% eligible.
Key takeaways for parents include the stark performance gap between these two schools in the same district, with Sterlington showing sustained excellence—its state ranking has been in the top 30 for three consecutive years. Ouachita Parish High shows mixed signals: while its test scores are low, especially in math (48% in Geometry and 55% in Algebra I), it excels at graduating students. However, its chronic absenteeism rate (21.8%) is a concern and likely impacts academic outcomes. Both schools have similar student-teacher ratios (around 15:1), but the academic results differ significantly, suggesting school-level factors beyond district administration drive the disparity.
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