The top reported proficiency rate is 51% in English language arts. The lowest is 36% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Lacoste Elementary School
Lacoste Elementary School is a regular public school in Chalmette, Louisiana, serving students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. It is one of several campuses in the St. Bernard Parish school district. The community of Chalmette, the parish seat, sits east of downtown New Orleans along the Mississippi River. The area has a suburban character, primarily residential but with industrial presence along the river, and has been in a sustained rebuilding phase since Hurricane Katrina destroyed much of the housing stock. The population has rebounded significantly since a post-Katrina low, though it remains below its pre-storm level. Median housing values in the immediate area are moderately below the national benchmark, and rents have been rising.
Enrollment at Lacoste is large for an elementary school serving pre-K through fifth grade. The student body is majority White, with a substantial Black cohort and a smaller Hispanic group representing the next largest portions. Asian students and students identifying as two or more races each make up more than a small share. A majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a common indicator of household income that families should interpret in the context of the broader community.
State testing results from the Louisiana LEAP 2025 assessments, covering grades three through five, provide the clearest picture of academic performance. In English language arts, roughly half of students scored at the proficient or advanced level. In math, a somewhat smaller share reached that threshold. Science and social studies proficiency rates were lower still. These results are from a single year of data, so no trend direction is available. Test participation was high across all subjects. A parent weighing these scores should consider that the school shared only one year of proficiency rates; a longer trend would give a better sense of whether performance is improving or holding steady.
The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report. Data on the share of students with disabilities and the share classified as English learners were not available from the source, so a family with a child in either category may want to ask the school directly about services and staffing. Information on the school's Title I status was also absent, as were details on discipline rates and staffing ratios. Because Lacoste is a regular neighborhood elementary school, the absence of discipline and staffing metrics likely reflects gaps in available reporting rather than anything about the school itself, but it does leave open questions a parent may wish to raise on a campus visit.
Lacoste sits within a single-district parish, meaning there is no neighboring district within the parish for direct comparison. The comparison tool flagged that the parish has only one district, so a county-level comparison was not possible.
The St. Bernard Parish school district did not have recent parent-relevant changes in curriculum, bond referendums, or pedagogy shifts reported in publicly available sources. That does not mean the district is static, but the available research turned up no developments that would affect a family's decision about this particular school.
For a family considering Lacoste, the picture is of a mid-sized to large elementary school in a community that has been through a major disruption and is rebuilding. The academic results are mixed, with English language arts being the relative strength and science notably weaker. A parent concerned about math or science attainment may want to ask how the school supports students in those subjects, especially in the upper elementary grades. The school's size means children will be in classes with a substantial number of peers, and the demographic composition is not homogenous, which many families consider a factor in the peer environment. The lack of special-population data and staffing ratios is a gap worth filling with a direct conversation at the school. The setting in Chalmette offers proximity to New Orleans without being in the urban core, and the area's post-Katrina rebound suggests a community with recent experience investing in its schools and infrastructure.
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