Original Research by School Decision on Peabody Magnet High School
Peabody Magnet High School sits in Alexandria, Louisiana, the mid-sized regional hub for central Louisiana. Alexandria functions as the retail, health care, and transportation center for a nine-parish area, with a mix of historic downtown blocks along the Red River, hospital districts, and auto-oriented residential neighborhoods. The city’s economy is anchored by two major hospitals, a VA medical center, manufacturers such as Procter & Gamble and Union Tank Car, and local government. Population has been declining slightly in recent years, and the area is not experiencing rapid growth. Housing values in the ZIP code that serves the school are well below the state and national benchmarks, and rents are modest relative to income, which is consistent with the city’s role as an affordable regional center.
Peabody Magnet High School serves grades nine through twelve and is a regular public school within the Rapides Parish school district. Enrollment is small for a high school. The student body is almost entirely Black. A very substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating that the school serves a population with concentrated economic need. Data on students with disabilities and English learners were not available. The school is not a charter school.
State testing data for Peabody Magnet High School was not available in the data provided, so there is no way to assess proficiency in core academic subjects from this source. The comparison set that would place the school against other districts in Rapides Parish was also empty for state testing, the graduation rate, and chronic absenteeism, because those metrics had no reported values for the school. This gap often reflects the nature of the school or the grade range, but the reason is not stated in the data. A parent or resident may want to ask the school or district directly for its most recent state assessment results and graduation rate.
The housing market in the area is notably affordable. The estimated monthly mortgage payment and rent are both low, even by national standards, and home values have declined recently. This affordability shapes the market for families considering the area: housing costs are not a barrier to entry here in the way they are in more expensive parts of the state. The typical mortgage is lower than the typical rent, creating a financial incentive to buy rather than rent for those who can.
The Rapides Parish district did not show any recent major changes in the data searched, so the district context is stable for now. The school’s program offerings were also not included in the data, so it is not possible to describe what magnet programs, career pathways, or advanced coursework are available. Given that the school carries the magnet designation in its name, a family should verify directly with the school or district what that designation means in practice and what specialized programs are offered.
For a family considering Peabody Magnet High School, the key characteristics are a small high school with a student body that is predominantly Black and low-income, located in an affordable mid-sized city that serves as a regional hub. The absence of testing and graduation data means that the academic picture is incomplete from this source, and a parent would need to gather that information from the school. The school’s magnet status suggests some kind of specialized or theme-based pathway, but no details were available to clarify what that entails. The setting is not one of rapid growth or expensive housing; it is a stable, moderately shrinking city where the public school serves a population with high economic need.
See more original research from School Decision →