The top reported proficiency rate is 26% in English language arts. The lowest is 10% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Swayze Elementary School
Swayze Elementary School serves students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in Monroe, Louisiana, as a regular public school within the Ouachita Parish school system. The school sits on a residential street in the southern part of the city, a few miles from the downtown civic core and the University of Louisiana at Monroe campus. The building itself is an elementary school, and there is no charter or magnet designation attached to it.
Monroe is the parish seat of Ouachita Parish and the economic hub of northeastern Louisiana. It is a mid-sized city whose economy is built around government, healthcare, education, and retail. Major employers include the Ouachita Parish School Board, Lumen Technologies (formerly CenturyLink), several hospitals, Walmart, and the university. The city has a regional mall, a zoo, a civic center, and a municipally owned transit system with fixed bus routes. But Monroe's population has been in a long-term decline from a historic peak, and the city faces challenges including natural disaster recovery from flooding and a tornado. Housing values in the area are modest compared to state and national benchmarks, and the median household income is also below national averages.
Swayze Elementary's enrollment is small. The student body is nearly entirely Black, and a substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, a marker of concentrated poverty. The school serves roughly equal numbers of students in each grade, with the largest group in fifth grade. State testing data is available for the most recent school year in math, English language arts, science, and social studies. Across all four subjects, the share of students scoring at the proficient level or above is low. English language arts shows the highest rate among the subjects, but still a modest portion of test-takers. Math, science, and social studies proficiency rates are all considerably lower. The school's overall proficiency index, which averages performance across tested subjects and grades, falls below the midpoint when compared with other districts in Ouachita Parish. Because this is a single year of data, no trend line is available; the school's results are a snapshot, not a trajectory.
No information was available on special education enrollment, English learner populations, discipline rates, attendance, or staffing levels. The district brief turned up no recent major changes at the district level that would affect families in a lasting way. The school's website was not part of the provided materials, so any enrichment offerings, after-school programs, or parent engagement structures are not documented here.
Swayze Elementary is a high-poverty elementary school in a city that has seen population decline and economic strain. Its state test results are well below typical county performance, and any family considering the school would want to discuss with the school directly how it supports academic growth, what interventions are in place, and what resources are available for students who need extra help. The school is one of a handful of elementary options within the Ouachita Parish system serving this part of Monroe, and the surrounding housing market is among the most affordable in the region, making the area accessible for renters and lower-income homebuyers. For a family whose priority is a small, neighborhood-based school with a consistent staff and community feel, this could be a reasonable fit, but the academic numbers are a clear point to investigate further.
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