The top reported proficiency rate is 12% in English language arts. The lowest is 2% in Social studies.
Original Research by School Decision on Berg Jones Elementary School
Berg Jones Elementary School serves students from pre-kindergarten through sixth grade as part of the City of Monroe School District. It is a regular public school located in Monroe, Louisiana, the parish seat and economic hub of Ouachita Parish. Monroe is a mid-sized city with a mature, slowly contracting population, shaped by public-sector employers including the school district itself, as well as healthcare and telecommunications. The surrounding housing market is relatively affordable, with home values below national and state benchmarks, and the community shows a modest decline in value over the prior year. The city is auto-oriented and spread out, with a municipal bus system providing fixed routes across the area.
The school’s student body is small for its grade band. It is composed almost entirely of Black students, with a very small number of White and Hispanic students. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a high level of economic need. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available, so the school’s full range of support services is not clear from the record.
On state assessments administered through Louisiana’s LEAP 2025 program, Berg Jones Elementary recorded low proficiency rates in every tested subject. Across math, English language arts, science, and social studies, the share of students reaching the proficient or above level was very small. In math and science, the rate was below what is typically reported for most schools. In English language arts, the rate was modestly higher than the other subjects but still low overall. The school’s overall proficiency index, which averages performance across all tested subjects and grades, placed it in the bottom quartile relative to other districts in Ouachita Parish. All students tested participated at the full rate, so the results reflect the entire tested population at the school.
Prior year trend data is minimal. Only a single year of English language arts proficiency data was available, so there is no basis for comparing growth or decline over time. The school’s performance on social studies assessments comes with a note that the state changed the scoring standards for that subject, which may affect comparability with past years. For a parent considering Berg Jones Elementary, the academic attainment numbers are a clear source of concern, and the school would be worth direct engagement with to understand what instructional supports, interventions, or curriculum initiatives are in place.
The district brief turned up no recent major changes such as boundary shifts, program overhauls, or funding referenda that would affect day-to-day operations at this school. The school itself provides a general elementary education without a magnet or charter designation, and no specialized program offerings were listed in the available data. Monroe’s cultural and civic landscape includes museums, a zoo, a university, and a regional airport, but these are city-level amenities rather than school-specific resources. For a family weighing Berg Jones Elementary, the main factors are the school’s very low academic performance metrics, its high-poverty student population, and its location within a stable but economically modest city. Conversations with the school about academic supports and enrichment opportunities would be a reasonable next step.
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