Independence Leadership Academy

Independence Leadership Academy operates as a middle-of-the-pack elementary campus in Independence, Louisiana, run under Tangipahoa Parish. Current enrollment sits at 548 students spanning grades pre-K through 6. Enrollment runs roughly 21% bigger than the state mean of about 453.

Tangipahoa Parish runs 32 schools in total, collectively educating 19,077 students. Independence Leadership Academy is one of those campuses.

On demographics, Independence Leadership Academy logs that 54% of students identify as Black, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups. Other groups include 24% Hispanic, 18% White, 4% multiracial. That is visibly more Black than the county at large, where the share is closer to 29%.

In terms of school funding signals, Staff filings list 41 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 13.3:1 students per teacher. That tracks the state average closely. An estimated 88% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. Set against Tangipahoa Parish (around 73%), the school's rate is somewhat above typical.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Independence Leadership Academy tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 21.3% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 12.0%.

Around the school, ACS estimates for Tangipahoa Parish put median household earnings sit near $56,760, roughly 21% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 14% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Across Tangipahoa Parish's 33 public schools (combined enrollment of about 19,077 students), Independence Leadership Academy is one campus in the mix.

Independence High Magnet is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.1 miles from this campus. 2 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Independence Leadership Academy at 6th of 7; the average score across the group is 17.8%.

The campus sits in an outlying setting.

Trend over the last 7 years. Over the past 7-year window, the student count climbed 22%: 449 students in 2018 compared to 548 in 2025. Black enrollment moved from 49% to 54% across the same window.

In the discussion threads here, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.