James Stephens Montessori School

James Stephens Montessori School, a medium-sized elementary-level community in Ville Platte, Louisiana, operated by Evangeline Parish, educates 421 students, covering grades pre-K through 8.

James Stephens Montessori School is one of 13 schools operated by Evangeline Parish, a district that caters to 5,326 students overall.

Demographically, James Stephens Montessori School lists that 77% of the student body identifies as Black; the rest looks like 19% White, 3% multiracial. By comparison, Evangeline Parish as a whole is about 26% Black, so the school skews noticeably more Black than its surroundings.

On the resource side, James Stephens Montessori School reports 37 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 11.3:1. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 14.0:1 average. An estimated 85% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy. By comparison, Evangeline Parish runs at roughly 72%, so the school's eligibility rate is somewhat above the surrounding baseline.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, James Stephens Montessori School sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 23.3%; this one delivers 36.0%.

Around the school, community-level numbers for Evangeline Parish indicate median household income runs about $41,915, roughly 14% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and the poverty rate sits near 19%. Across Evangeline Parish's 13 public schools (combined enrollment of about 5,326 students), James Stephens Montessori School is one campus in the mix.

Ville Platte Elementary School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 1.0 miles from this campus. 3 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. On composite proficiency, James Stephens Montessori School comes 2nd of 7 in the immediate cluster, higher than the nearby-schools average of 25.5%.

James Stephens Montessori School operates from a town-based location.

Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count increased 20%: 351 students in 2018 compared to 421 in 2025. White enrollment moved from 40% to 19% across the same window. Class-load math has narrowed: from 17.6:1 in 2018 to 11.3:1 in 2025.

On the community side, the feed for James Stephens Montessori School typically covers sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.