Summary:
In zip code 71254, there is one elementary school, Southside Elementary School, serving grades PK through 5 in Lake Providence, Louisiana, a community where nearly 97% of students face significant economic challenges.
Southside Elementary School is in a state of rapid decline, with its state ranking falling from the 13th percentile in 2023-2024 to the very bottom (0th percentile) in 2025-2026. The school's academic performance is critically low, with only 21% of students proficient in math and 32% proficient in English Language Arts, compared to state averages of 62% and 70% respectively. This represents a sharp drop from the previous year, when math proficiency was 34% and ELA was 36%. The school is part of the East Carroll Parish school district, which itself ranks in the bottom 20% of Louisiana districts.
A major concern is the school's chronic absenteeism rate of 25%, which exceeds both the district average of 17.7% and the state average of 22.5%. Combined with a student-teacher ratio of 15.3:1 and a 96.94% free/reduced lunch rate, the school faces a challenging cycle where poverty and absenteeism directly impact learning. The steep one-year decline in test scores from 2024-2025 to 2025-2026 is a critical red flag, suggesting that current conditions are worsening rather than stabilizing. For parents, this data indicates a school in crisis that requires urgent attention and intervention to reverse its downward trajectory.
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