The top reported proficiency rate is 48% in English language arts. The lowest is 32% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on J.f. Gauthier School
J.F. Gauthier School is a regular public elementary school in St. Bernard Parish, serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. It sits on East Louisiana Highway 46 in the community of St. Bernard, a part of the parish that blends residential areas with the industrial and port activity characteristic of the New Orleans metro region. The parish itself has a distinct cultural identity rooted in its Isleño heritage and its location along the Mississippi River and Bayou Terre aux Boeufs. Civic life centers on the nearby town of Chalmette, and the landscape is a mix of suburban neighborhoods, waterfront recreation, and industrial zones.
The school enrolls a mid-sized student body for an elementary school, with grades running from PK through five. The student population is predominantly white, with a sizable Hispanic cohort and a smaller Black cohort. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating that the school serves a community with significant economic need.
On the state’s LEAP 2025 assessments, which Louisiana administers to students in grades three through eight, Gauthier’s results show a mixed picture. In English language arts, roughly half of students scored at the proficient level or above. In math, the share was a bit lower, at around two out of five students. Science and social studies proficiency rates were lower still, with about one in three students reaching the proficient bar. These are the school’s first reported results for this assessment cycle, so there is no prior year data to compare. The pattern suggests that while a solid portion of students are meeting grade-level expectations in reading, the school faces steeper challenges in mathematics and especially in science and social studies. A parent may want to ask the school about how it addresses these gaps.
The school has a high participation rate on state tests, meaning nearly every enrolled student in the tested grades took the assessments, which gives a complete picture of performance.
Housing in the 70085 zip code is relatively affordable compared to both state and national benchmarks. Home values have seen a slight decline recently, and the estimated monthly mortgage payment is well under a figure that would strain a typical local household budget. This aligns with St. Bernard Parish’s broader trajectory: the parish was the fastest-growing in Louisiana in the years after Hurricane Katrina, though it still has not returned to its pre-storm population. The area has been through successive hurricane recoveries, and rebuilding continues to shape the community.
The district brief did not turn up any recent curriculum changes, referendums, or major policy shifts for St. Bernard Parish schools, so the district has been relatively stable on those fronts.
Because Gauthier serves only elementary grades, there is no high school graduation rate to report, and no data on chronic absenteeism was available. The comparison against other districts in St. Bernard Parish was not possible because the parish has only one school district, so the usual frame of reference does not apply here.
For a family considering this school, the key considerations are the affordability of the area, the elementary-only grade span, and the mixed state test results, with stronger reading outcomes and weaker performance in science and social studies. The school serves a community that has weathered significant disruption and continues to rebuild, and its student body reflects the economic contours of that recovery. It is a neighborhood elementary school in a parish with a strong local identity and proximity to New Orleans, but with a car-dependent, suburban-to-rural layout that families should factor into their daily routines.
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