Original Research by School Decision on C.e. Byrd High School
C.E. Byrd High School sits in the Highland neighborhood of Shreveport, a city that has been the commercial and cultural center of the Ark-La-Tex region since the oil boom. Shreveport has faced real economic headwinds in recent decades, with a steadily declining population, the loss of manufacturing jobs, and persistent challenges with poverty and crime. The city is actively working to diversify its economy through healthcare, logistics, the I-20 Cyber Corridor initiative, and the redevelopment of its river port. Housing in the area around the school remains notably affordable, with home values and rents well below national medians, and a mortgage tends to be cheaper than renting in the current market.
Byrd is a regular public high school serving grades nine through twelve and is part of the Caddo Parish school system. The district itself, in the available data, does not appear to have recently undergone major policy, curriculum, or boundary changes that would be immediately noticeable to a parent. Byrd is a large high school for its grade band, drawing a student body that is roughly evenly split between white students and Black students, with a smaller but present Hispanic population. A substantial share of students come from households with low enough incomes to qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a figure that roughly mirrors the city’s broader economic reality, where a notable portion of residents live below the poverty line.
The most significant gap in the profile of this school is the absence of academic performance data. State testing results for the school were not available in the provided records, and as a result, no proficiency rates, graduation rate, or chronic absenteeism figures are present to place Byrd against its peers in Caddo Parish. Without this information, it is impossible to offer a read on academic rigor, student readiness, or the typical postsecondary pathway. A parent looking at Byrd will want to investigate directly with the school or the district to understand how students perform on state assessments and what the graduation rate looks like, as those are foundational measures of a high school’s effectiveness.
The school environment and access data are similarly thin. There is no information on discipline rates, course access, staffing ratios, or attendance patterns. Whether Byrd offers Advanced Placement courses, dual enrollment, career and technical education pathways, or other specialized programming is not documented here. The lack of civil rights data, including special education identification rates and English learner support, means a family with a child who has an Individualized Education Program or is learning English would need to make direct inquiries.
What is clear is the school’s place in the community. Byrd is a large, comprehensive high school in a city that has historic districts, a riverfront downtown, and a university presence, but also one that has been grappling with economic contraction. The school’s enrollment is sizable, and the student body reflects the city’s demographic mix. For a family already living in the Highland neighborhood or nearby, Byrd is the zoned public option. For anyone considering a move to Shreveport, the housing costs are low, but the school’s academic reputation and specific offerings remain unverified in this data set. The lack of test scores, graduation data, and program information is the central fact a prospective parent would need to resolve before making a decision.
See more original research from School Decision →