Original Research by School Decision on Northwood High School
Northwood High School sits in Shreveport, a city that anchors the Ark-La-Tex region where three states meet. It is a regular public high school serving grades nine through twelve, and it is part of the Caddo Parish Public Schools system. Shreveport has a deep history as an oil and manufacturing hub, but those industries have contracted significantly, and the city has seen a steady population decline. The local economy is now more diverse, with healthcare, logistics, gaming, and a growing cybersecurity corridor, along with the presence of Barksdale Air Force Base, providing employment. Housing in the area is affordable relative to national averages, and a substantial share of the population lives in poverty.
The school’s enrollment is mid-sized for a high school. The student body is roughly balanced between white and Black students, with a much smaller share of Hispanic students and even smaller numbers of Asian, multiracial, and Native American students. Well over half of the students at Northwood qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a marker that the school serves a population with significant economic need. Data on the share of students with disabilities and English learners was not available in the reported information.
One notable gap in the available data is academic performance. State assessment results for Northwood High School were not included, which means there is no direct measure of how students at the school are performing on state tests in subjects like English, math, or science relative to state standards. The same is true for the school’s four-year graduation rate and chronic absenteeism rate, both of which were also absent from the data. Because the school is a regular high school serving grades nine through twelve, these are metrics that would typically apply and be reported. A parent looking to understand the school’s academic track record would want to seek this information directly from the school or the district office, as the absence of these measures leaves a significant hole in the picture.
The school sits within Caddo Parish, and a comparison against other districts within the parish was attempted, but the metrics that would allow that comparison—proficiency, graduation rate, chronic absenteeism—were all missing for Northwood. That means it is not possible to place this school against its parish neighbors on those standard academic measures using the information at hand.
Without program data, we cannot say what specific course pathways, Advanced Placement offerings, career and technical education programs, or extracurriculars are available at Northwood. Many schools in this region do offer dual-enrollment with local colleges and career pathways tied to the area’s economic sectors, but that is not confirmed for Northwood from the given data.
For a family evaluating Northwood High, the picture is defined more by what is missing than by what is present. The school’s demographic profile shows it serves a diverse student body with a significant share of lower-income households. The city of Shreveport is a mid-sized urban center that continues to navigate economic transition, with affordability in housing but also with the challenges of population loss and poverty. The school’s academic standing, graduation outcomes, and program offerings remain unmeasured in the data provided. Any informed decision about this school would require direct outreach to the school to ask about its academic results, graduation rate, and the specific programs it offers to students.
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