The top reported proficiency rate is 24% in English language arts. The lowest is 7% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Verda Elementary School
Verda Elementary School is a regular public school serving prekindergarten through fifth grade in Montgomery, a small rural town in northwestern Grant Parish, Louisiana. The school is the elementary campus for the area, and students go on to Montgomery High School, which houses grades six through twelve. Verda Elementary sits within a community that has seen steady population decline over the past two decades, where poverty rates are high and median household income is low. Many residents commute long distances for work, and the local economy relies on a handful of small industrial operations such as a pallet plant and a pulpwood operation, along with utility and health care jobs. Housing in the area is modestly priced, and values have been trending downward.
The student body is predominantly white, with a smaller share of Black students and a very small number of students of two or more races. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, a marker that aligns with the broader economic conditions of Montgomery and Grant Parish. Data on students with disabilities and English learners were not available from the source, so a family with a child who has an individualized education plan or who is learning English may want to follow up directly with the school to understand the supports available.
On the 2025 Louisiana Educational Assessment Program (LEAP 2025) tests, the share of Verda Elementary students scoring at the proficient or advanced level was modest in reading and lower in math. Social studies proficiency was similar to math, and science proficiency was very low. For a school serving primary and intermediate grades, these results point to areas where the school may be working to strengthen instruction. Because only one year of assessment data was provided, it is not possible to see whether performance has been improving or declining over time. No comparison data across other districts in Grant Parish is available, as the parish has only one public school system, so a family cannot gauge how Verda Elementary stacks up against nearby elementary schools in other parishes.
No information was reported on discipline rates, chronic absenteeism, staffing ratios, or course access, all of which are important pieces of the school environment. That absence means the picture of day-to-day life at Verda Elementary is incomplete. The district brief for Grant Parish turned up no recent changes such as new curriculum initiatives, boundary adjustments, or tax referendums that would be of immediate interest to parents.
For a family considering Verda Elementary, the clearest takeaway is that the school serves a high-poverty rural community and that its state test results in most subjects are below where one would hope, with reading being the relative bright spot. The school is small and covers only elementary grades, so the peer group is a single-age cohort within a tight-knit town. The local housing market is affordable by national standards but has been losing value, and the area does not appear to be attracting new residential development. Families who value small-town life and are comfortable with the academic challenges implied by the assessment data may find Verda Elementary a workable option, but those seeking a school with stronger measured outcomes or a wider array of programs would likely need to look outside Grant Parish.
See more original research from School Decision →