Duson Elementary School

As a modestly sized elementary campus in Duson, Louisiana, Duson Elementary School instructs 229 students from grades pre-K through 5, run under Lafayette Parish. Enrollment runs roughly 49% below the state mean of about 453.

Across the 44 schools in Lafayette Parish (29,396 students total), Duson Elementary School accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

On demographics, Duson Elementary School lists that the largest single group is White, at 60% of enrollment. Beyond that, the school shows 28% Black, 11% Hispanic. That mix tracks the wider county fairly closely.

Looking at school resources, Staff filings list 15 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 15.2:1 students per teacher. That figure is higher than the state norm's 14.0:1 average. About 74% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. Set against Lafayette Parish (around 59%), the school's rate is noticeably above typical.

After controlling for student poverty, Duson Elementary School ranks in the top 10% of Louisiana public schools. The BeatsExpectations model, a per-state regression of composite proficiency on FRL share, predicts schools with this student profile to land around 31.0%; Duson Elementary School posts 48.3%, +17.4 points above that line.

In the surrounding community, ACS estimates for Lafayette Parish put the typical household earns roughly $67,451 per year, about 35% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 13%. In all, Lafayette Parish runs 50 public schools (combined enrollment of about 35,903 students), of which Duson Elementary School is one.

Charles M. Burke Elementary School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 4.1 miles from this campus. Within five miles, there are 3 other public schools. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Duson Elementary School at 2nd of 7; the average score across the group is 41.1%.

Geographically, the school is in a small-town area.

Trend over the last 7 years. Duson Elementary School's enrollment has held roughly steady since 2018, when it stood at 233 (now 229). Class-load math has fell: from 16.6:1 in 2018 to 15.2:1 in 2025.

In the discussion threads here, members of the Duson Elementary School community share and discuss science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.