The top reported proficiency rate is 33% in English language arts. The lowest is 22% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Joseph C Moscona School
Joseph C Moscona School is a regular public school in Metairie serving students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. It sits within the Jefferson Parish Public School System, a district that has undergone significant recent change. A school consolidation plan was approved in 2023, involving closures, mergers, and redrawn attendance zones across both the East Bank and West Bank of the parish. Parents have expressed concerns about longer commutes and disruption, while the district says savings will be redirected to remaining schools. For the 2024-2025 school year, the School Board also approved budget cuts citing declining enrollment and state funding shortfalls, including reductions in central office staff and transportation services.
Metairie itself is a mix of residential and commercial areas. Veterans Memorial Boulevard and Causeway Boulevard form the primary commercial and business corridors. The community includes older, upscale housing tracts known as “Old Metairie,” as well as denser commercial zones like “Fat City.” Major employers include the training facilities and corporate headquarters of the New Orleans Saints and New Orleans Pelicans. The area experienced significant growth through the mid-20th century before its population stabilized in recent decades.
The student body at Moscona is diverse. Over half of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting a substantial share of families with economic need. Racially and ethnically, the largest group is Hispanic, followed by White students, and then Black students, with smaller numbers of students who are Asian, of two or more races, or American Indian or Alaska Native. Data on special education identification and English learner status were not available. The school has a modest enrollment for a PK-8 campus.
State testing results from the 2024-2025 school year on the LEAP 2025 assessment show that proficiency rates across all tested subjects sit below state averages. In English language arts, roughly a third of students in grades 3 through 8 scored at the proficient or above level. In math, the share was lower, around a fifth. Science and social studies fell in between, with about a fifth and a third of students reaching proficiency, respectively. Participation in testing was full, so the results reflect the entire tested student body. A parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand what academic supports are in place and how they plan to address these outcomes.
The broader district is also in a period of academic and programmatic transition. Jefferson Parish adopted a new evidence-based reading curriculum beginning in the 2023-2024 school year, aligned with a state-level reading initiative, and invested in teacher professional development to support it. Additionally, the district received a federal grant in 2023 to enhance STEM education, to be used for technology upgrades, teacher training, and expanded STEM programs across multiple schools. It is not clear from available information how much of this investment reaches Moscona specifically.
The school offers no high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report, and data on course access, staffing, and chronic absenteeism were also absent from the record. A comparison of Moscona to other schools in Jefferson Parish was not possible because the cohort of comparable schools was too small for the proficiency metric.
For a family considering this school, the picture is one of a diverse, mid-sized PK-8 school in a suburban commercial corridor, operating within a district managing consolidation and budget tightening. The academic results are a clear soft spot, and the available data does not provide a full view of the school’s internal supports or programming. A parent looking here should be prepared to ask direct questions about how the school is working to improve student outcomes and what specific programs or interventions are in place for students who are behind.
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