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If you had an hour of school board time for Prairie Elementary School, what would you bring up?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
663
Elementary
DISTRICT 584 · STATE 453
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·LAFAYETTE PARISH·NCES 220087000688
Prairie Elementary School
1101 Rue du Belier, Lafayette, LA 70506 · (337) 521-7790 · Lafayette Parish
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY12-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL663 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
17.3:1
38 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.7:1 · STATE 14.0:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
58%
384 students
DISTRICT 62% · STATE 70%
Community
5
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 37 | 6% |
| Kindergarten | 110 | 17% |
| Grade 1 | 123 | 19% |
| Grade 2 | 105 | 16% |
| Grade 3 | 100 | 15% |
| Grade 4 | 96 | 14% |
| Grade 5 | 92 | 14% |
Student demographics
64%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 65% · STATE 65% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
LEAP 2025 2025-26 . % Mastery+English Language Arts
54.0%
LA avg 41.8% . -8.0pp since 2022
Math
52.0%
LA avg 34.2% . -4.0pp since 2022
What this means: On the LEAP 2025, Louisiana's statewide test, about 54 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 52 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Louisiana schools, those numbers are about 42 and 34. Reading and writing scores are down about 8 points since 2022, while math scores are down about 4 points.
LEAP 2025 results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 54.0% | 52.0% |
| 2024-25 | 53.0% | 52.0% |
| 2023-24 | 61.0% | 58.0% |
| 2022-23 | 62.0% | 56.0% |
% Mastery+, all students and all tested grades.
Source: LEAP 2025. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
51.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
42.6%
based on LA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+8.3pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 51% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 43% typical for Louisiana schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Louisiana's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Where Prairie Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Louisiana | In Lafayette Parish |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 51.0% | #99 of 583 | #8 of 24 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 52.0% | #105 of 582 | #9 of 24 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 54.0% | #137 of 587 | #7 of 24 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -6.0pp | #116 of 540 | #8 of 23 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 663 | #95 of 714 | #8 of 26 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 17.3:1 | #610 of 655 | #15 of 26 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 64.1% | #95 of 655 | #9 of 26 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 57.9% | #557 of 705 | #17 of 26 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -10.9% | #287 of 436 | #9 of 14 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
663
+60 (+10%) vs 2020
-19% since 1990-91, when it was 823
Student : Teacher
17.3:1
was 14.7:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 663 | 38.4 | 17.3:1 | 58% (384) |
| 2023-24 | 674 | 50.2 | 13.4:1 | 59% (397) |
| 2022-23 | 606 | 41.2 | 14.7:1 | 55% (335) |
| 2020-21 | 603 | 41 | 14.7:1 | 91% (548) |
| 2017-18 | 744 | 46 | 16.2:1 | 34% (255) |
| 2015-16 | 844 | 61 | 13.8:1 | 50% (419) |
| 2010-11 | 865 | 62 | 13.9:1 | 61% (530) |
| 2000-01 | 771 | 56 | 13.8:1 | 41% (316) |
| 1990-91 | 823 | 45 | 18.3:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Prairie Elementary School.
About Prairie Elementary School
Prairie Elementary School runs as a medium-sized elementary school in Lafayette, Louisiana. A total of 663 students attend the school, which covers pre-K through 5. Against the 453-student average for elementary schools in Louisiana, enrollment here is 46% higher.
Lafayette Parish has 29,396 students in 44 schools, and Prairie Elementary School is one of those schools.
Prairie Elementary School has no majority group; White students are the largest, at 44%. Other students are 39% Black, 10% Hispanic, and 4% multiracial. By comparison, Lafayette Parish residents are about 63% White. The school's diversity index is 64%, meaning two students picked at random have a 64% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
A ratio of 17.3:1 comes from the school's 38.4 full-time-equivalent teachers. The school has more students per teacher than the 14.0:1 average for elementary schools in Louisiana. The school's lunch program data list 58% of students as eligible for free or reduced-price meals. That tracks the 59% average for public schools in Lafayette Parish.
Based on its free or reduced-price lunch share, the BeatsExpectations model predicts an average proficiency rate on state tests of 42.6% for Prairie Elementary School. The school posts 51.0%, 8.3 points above the prediction.
Within Lafayette Parish, the median household income is $67,451, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 35% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 13%. In all, Lafayette Parish has 50 public schools and roughly 35,903 students.
Nearby, Acadiana High School is about 1.2 miles away. There are at least 8 more public schools inside five miles. Ranking the closest schools with test data puts Prairie Elementary School at 5th of 6.
Its location is classified as City: Mid-size by the National Center for Education Statistics.
Enrollment has grown by 60 students since 2020-21, to 663. By 2024-25, the school had 17.3 students per teacher, compared with 14.7 in 2020-21.
Community posts for Prairie Elementary School can cover school safety, transportation, and start times. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
Lafayette Parish at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
247,997
Census ACS
Median income
$67,451
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
35%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
13%
Below federal line
Schools in county
50
35,903 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Lafayette Parish
- Southside High SchoolHigh · 1,833 students
- Lafayette High SchoolHigh · 1,720 students
- Acadiana High SchoolHigh · 1,652 students
- David Thibodaux STEM Magnet AcademyHigh · 1,362 students
- Milton Elementary SchoolElementary · 1,261 students
- Carencro High SchoolHigh · 1,116 students
Other schools in Lafayette
- Lafayette Renaissance Charter AcademyCombined · 2,177 students
- Lafayette High SchoolHigh · 1,720 students
- Acadiana High SchoolHigh · 1,652 students
- David Thibodaux STEM Magnet AcademyHigh · 1,362 students
- Milton Elementary SchoolElementary · 1,261 students
- Carencro High SchoolHigh · 1,116 students
Nearby schools
- Acadiana High School1.2 mi · 1,652
- Edgar Martin Middle School1.7 mi · 641
- Broadmoor Elementary School2.1 mi · 749
- Lafayette High School2.4 mi · 1,720
- S.J. Montgomery Elementary School2.4 mi · 663
- JCFA Lafayette2.5 mi · 56
Frequently asked questions
About Prairie Elementary SchoolHow many students attend Prairie Elementary School?
Prairie Elementary School enrolls approximately 663 students in grades PK-05.
Is Prairie Elementary School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Prairie Elementary School is an elementary school covering grades PK-05.
How many teachers does Prairie Elementary School have?
Prairie Elementary School employs 38 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 17.3:1.
What is the student diversity at Prairie Elementary School?
Student demographics at Prairie Elementary School are roughly 44% White, 10% Hispanic, 39% Black, 2% Asian, 4% Two or more.
Who oversees Prairie Elementary School?
Prairie Elementary School is overseen by Lafayette Parish in Lafayette Parish.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.