Gibson Elementary School, Gibson LA

Original Research by School Decision on Gibson Elementary School

Gibson Elementary School is a regular public school in the rural, unincorporated community of Gibson, Louisiana, serving students from pre-kindergarten through sixth grade. The school sits along Bayou Black in the Atchafalaya Basin region of Terrebonne Parish, an area whose economy is tied to the oil and gas industry, commercial fishing, and aquaculture. Gibson is a community in population decline, with no traditional downtown and a spread-out, bayou-side residential character. Housing is scattered along rural roads, and the school is one of the few civic anchors in the area, alongside a public library branch and volunteer fire departments.

The student body at Gibson Elementary is modest in size for its grade band and is predominantly composed of Black and white students, with a smaller share of students identifying as two or more races and a small Hispanic population. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a high level of economic need. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available.

On Louisiana’s LEAP 2025 assessments, the school’s proficiency rates in math and English language arts varied notably by grade level. In math, the share of students scoring proficient or above was low across grades three, four, and five, and in grade six the rate fell within a similarly low range. English language arts results showed more variation: proficiency rates were higher in the upper grades than in the lower grades, with the strongest performance among the tested grades. In science, proficiency rates were low across all tested grade levels. Social studies results from the prior school year showed low proficiency in third grade, higher in fourth, and highest in fifth, with the rate in sixth grade also low. A parent may want to look into these patterns further with the school, particularly to understand whether the wide range by grade and subject reflects cohort differences or instructional approaches.

Because the school does not serve high school grades, there is no graduation rate to report. The data did not include information about programs such as gifted education, arts offerings, or extracurriculars. No information was available on student discipline, chronic absenteeism, or staffing ratios.

Gibson Elementary is part of Terrebonne Parish School District. The district has recently approved an elementary school rezoning plan effective for the 2024-2025 school year, which may shift attendance boundaries and affect which elementary school a child attends. The district has also adopted a new science curriculum for elementary and middle schools. In a separate development that could affect the school’s future, the district faces a projected budget deficit driven by declining enrollment, inflation, and the expiration of federal COVID-19 relief funds, and it has discussed potential school closures, staff reductions, and program cuts as options to address the shortfall. Families should be aware that these financial pressures could bring changes to school operations or availability in the coming years.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 330%

School 30% · district not reported

▲ 5 pts above state median

Grade 444%

School 44% · district not reported

▲ 16 pts above state median

Grade 533%

School 33% · district not reported

▲ 14 pts above state median

English language arts

Grade 330%

School 30% · district not reported

even with state median

Grade 444%

School 44% · district not reported

▲ 13 pts above state median

Grade 558%

School 58% · district not reported

▲ 29 pts above state median

Grade 652%

School 52% · district not reported

▲ 26 pts above state median

Science

Grade 315%

School 15% · district not reported

even with state median

Grade 438%

School 38% · district not reported

▲ 18 pts above state median

Grade 525%

School 25% · district not reported

▲ 2 pts above state median

Grade 626%

School 26% · district not reported

▲ 5 pts above state median

Social studies

Grade 35%

School 5% · district not reported

▼ 9 pts below state median

Grade 420%

School 20% · district not reported

even with state median

Grade 539%

School 39% · district not reported

▲ 16 pts above state median

Grade 616%

School 16% · district not reported

even with state median

This schoolTerrebonne Parish, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.