The top reported proficiency rate is 46% in English language arts. The lowest is 24% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on St. Bernard Middle School
St. Bernard Middle School is a regular public school serving grades six through eight in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, just outside New Orleans. The student body of the mid-sized middle school is racially and ethnically mixed: a little under half the students are white, roughly a third are Black, about one in six are Hispanic, and small shares identify as two or more races or American Indian. Asian and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students are not represented in the enrollment. A substantial majority of students come from households that qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating high economic need.
The school participates in Louisiana’s LEAP 2025 state assessments. On the most recent testing cycle, the share of students scoring at proficient or above in English language arts stood at roughly half, while in math it was lower, at about three in ten. Science proficiency was lower still, around one in four. Social studies proficiency came in at about a third. The testing participation rate was near universal. Caution is warranted with the social studies result: the state changed the cut score that year, so the metric is not directly comparable to prior years. Only a single year of testing data was available, so no trend can be established, and because St. Bernard Parish is the only district in the parish, no meaningful comparison to neighboring districts is possible.
The school’s setting shapes the experience for families. St. Bernard Parish is a mix of suburban residential communities, industrial and port zones, and waterways within the New Orleans metropolitan area. The parish was devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and by Hurricane Ida in 2021; virtually every structure was damaged, and the population has grown steadily since a low point but remains well below pre-Katrina levels. The economy is anchored by the St. Bernard Port and the healthcare sector. Housing in the parish is modestly priced compared to national and state benchmarks, and housing values declined recently. The estimated monthly mortgage payment on a median-priced home is under $900, and the rent-to-income ratio is about a fifth, suggesting housing is relatively affordable for the area. The parish is largely car-dependent with a limited walkable street grid; life centers on Chalmette, the parish seat, and on scattered communities along the bayous.
The school itself is a regular public school with no charter or magnet designation. Information on class sizes, teacher staffing, course offerings, discipline rates, and chronic absenteeism was not available from the data. Special education and English learner counts were also missing. Without these details, a family cannot fully assess the school’s academic support systems or program breadth. The school’s website and direct inquiry would be a necessary next step.
For parents weighing this school, the academic picture is mixed: English language arts results approach a benchmark that many families would consider acceptable, while math and science results are meaningfully lower, and a parent may want to ask what interventions are in place for those subjects. The student body reflects the community’s post-hurricane rebuilding demographics, with a high share of students from lower-income households. The parish’s ongoing recovery from major hurricanes and its industrial-port economic base mean that families moving to the area should also factor in flood risk, commute times, and the availability of community services when choosing a neighborhood. St. Bernard Middle School serves as the main public middle school option in a parish with a distinctive cultural heritage and a population still in the process of rebuilding.
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