The top reported proficiency rate is 39% in Math. The lowest is 23% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Jennings Elementary School
Jennings Elementary School serves the children of Jennings, Louisiana, from pre-kindergarten through sixth grade. It is a regular public school within the Jefferson Davis Parish school system and, with an enrollment of well over a thousand students across those grades, it is a large elementary school by any measure. The student body is roughly evenly split between white and Black students, with smaller shares of Hispanic and multiracial children and a very small presence of Asian and Native American students. A substantial majority of the families qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which places the school in a high-poverty context.
The town of Jennings is a small parish seat that has seen a steady population decline over the past several years. It sits along Interstate 10 halfway between Lafayette and Lake Charles, and its economy was built on oil and later agriculture. Rice, soybeans, and cattle farming are mainstays, and the downtown offers a handful of museums and antique shops. Housing values in the area are well below state and national averages, and recent data shows a year-over-year drop in home prices. For a family moving into the area, the housing market is affordable by any measure, and the school is the elementary destination for most children living within the city limits.
On state assessments, Jennings Elementary produces mixed results that a parent will want to examine closely. In math, roughly two out of five students scored at the proficient level or above. In English language arts and social studies, about one in three students reached that bar. Science showed a lower share, with fewer than one in four students scoring proficient. These numbers come from a single school year, so there is no trend to point toward improvement or decline. Participation rates were very high, meaning nearly every student took the tests. Because there is only one district in Jefferson Davis Parish, no comparison to other local districts is possible here. The school has no high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report, and no data on chronic absenteeism or discipline was available in the source material.
The district itself, Jefferson Davis Parish, has no notable recent changes to report, at least none that met the bar of lasting impact for parents. No new curriculum initiatives, no property-tax referendums, no strategic plans surfaced in the search. This means a parent moving into the area will largely find the school as it has been, without any major disruption or announced reform on the horizon.
What the profile does not tell us is also worth noting. There is no information on the availability of gifted or advanced programs, special education services, English learner supports, or any enrichment offerings beyond the standard curriculum. The civil rights data on discipline rates and student access to courses is absent. A parent who needs those details, especially one with a child who has an individualized education program or who is learning English, should contact the school directly. The school website, listed in the directory, is the place to start.
For a family weighing this school, the picture is straightforward. Jennings Elementary is a large, high-poverty elementary school in a small, contracting town. Test performance sits below what many parents would hope for, particularly in science. The lack of a multi-year trend makes it hard to know whether that is a stable baseline or a snapshot in time. The setting is rural and car-dependent, with a quiet downtown and limited commercial activity. A parent whose child needs strong academic intervention or a robust enrichment environment may want to dig deeper into what the school provides beyond the state assessment results. A parent who values a traditional, neighborhood-based elementary school in an affordable community will find that here, with the understanding that the academic numbers are modest and that the school faces the challenges that come with serving a high proportion of low-income families.
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