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What do you wish you knew before starting at South Plaquemines High School?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
355
High
DISTRICT 619 · STATE 711
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·PLAQUEMINES PARISH·NCES 220123002028
South Plaquemines High School
34121 Highway 23, Buras, LA 70041 · (504) 595-6435 · Plaquemines Parish
GRADES 07–12HIGH43-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL355 STUDENTS
A-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 79% of Louisiana public high schools
- BTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- A-Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- B+Three-year trend Change in reading and math proficiency over the last three test years.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Louisiana public high schools
Student : Teacher
9.4:1
38 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 11.3:1 · STATE 18.0:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
75%
267 students
DISTRICT 68% · STATE 70%
Community
1
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other high schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 7 | 69 | 19% |
| Grade 8 | 71 | 20% |
| Grade 9 | 58 | 16% |
| Grade 10 | 45 | 13% |
| Grade 11 | 56 | 16% |
| Grade 12 | 56 | 16% |
Student demographics
69%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
School pathway
Based on grade levels within Plaquemines Parish. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
LEAP 2025 2025-26 . % Mastery+English Language Arts
41.0%
LA avg 41.8% . +4.0pp since 2022
Math
39.0%
LA avg 34.2% . +8.0pp since 2022
What this means: On the LEAP 2025, Louisiana's statewide test, about 41 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 39 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Louisiana schools, those numbers are about 42 and 34. Reading and writing scores are up about 4 points since 2022, while math scores are up about 8 points.
LEAP 2025 results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 41.0% | 39.0% |
| 2024-25 | 46.0% | 35.0% |
| 2023-24 | 45.0% | 33.0% |
| 2022-23 | 37.0% | 31.0% |
% 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
35.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
30.2%
based on LA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+5.2pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 35% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 30% 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 →
Schools most like South Plaquemines High School
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Plaquemines High School this school | 355 | 75.2% | 35.3% |
| Abbeville High School Abbeville | 569 | 74.7% | N/A |
| Westgate High School New Iberia | 863 | 78.8% | N/A |
| Abramson Sci Academy New Orleans | 655 | 94.2% | N/A |
| Magnet Academy for Cultural Arts Opelousas | 289 | 71.3% | 58.3% |
| Thomas Jefferson High School for Advanced Studies Gretna | 527 | 51.0% | 87.2% |
Matched among Louisiana high schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where South Plaquemines High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Louisiana |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 35.3% | #23 of 65 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 39.0% | #16 of 69 ▲ 4 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 41.0% | #29 of 70 ▼ 7 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +6.0pp | #15 of 51 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 355 | #194 of 267 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 9.4:1 | #18 of 240 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 69.1% | #9 of 240 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 75.2% | #95 of 258 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -21.5% | #48 of 156 |
Ranked against other public high 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. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
355
-84 (-19%) vs 2020
-6% since 2010-11, when it was 376
Student : Teacher
9.4:1
was 17.6:1
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 | 355 | 37.7 | 9.4:1 | 75% (267) |
| 2023-24 | 402 | 32 | 12.6:1 | 71% (286) |
| 2022-23 | 412 | 27 | 15.3:1 | 100% (412) |
| 2020-21 | 439 | 25 | 17.6:1 | 100% (438) |
| 2017-18 | 452 | 22.3 | 20.3:1 | 100% (452) |
| 2015-16 | 425 | 25 | 17.0:1 | 91% (387) |
| 2010-11 | 376 | 34 | 11.1:1 | 86% (324) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for South Plaquemines High School.
Since 2017-18: students down 21% (452 to 355); teachers up 69% (22.3 to 37.7).
About South Plaquemines High School
South Plaquemines High School operates as a small high school in Buras, Louisiana. The student body numbers 355 students, from grades 7 through 12. An average school in this group (high schools in Louisiana) has about 711 students.
Besides South Plaquemines High School, Plaquemines Parish runs 7 other schools. The district enrolls 3,510 students.
By race and ethnicity, the largest group at South Plaquemines High School is Black (45%). Other groups include 28% White, 14% Asian, 9% Hispanic, and 3% Native American. The county population is about 21% Black. By the diversity index, South Plaquemines High School comes in at 69%.
South Plaquemines High School counts 37.7 full-time-equivalent teachers, about 9.4 students for each one. The 18.0:1 average for high schools in Louisiana is higher than this school's figure. About 75% of students at the school meet free or reduced-price lunch income limits. On average, public schools in Plaquemines Parish report 61%.
Measured against Louisiana public high schools, South Plaquemines High School receives an A-. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.
South Plaquemines High School scores 35.3% on state tests, averaged across results. The predicted figure, based on its student poverty level, is 30.2%.
Federal survey data for Plaquemines Parish show that median household income is about $86,315, about 22% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 9%. A total of 9 public schools operate in Plaquemines Parish, serving about 4,283 students.
The shortest distance from South Plaquemines High School to another public school is about 10.2 miles, to Boothville-Venice Elementary School. South Plaquemines High School comes in 5th of 8 nearby schools on average proficiency.
NCES describes the area around South Plaquemines High School as Rural: Remote, meaning in rural territory far from an urban area.
Between 2020-21 and 2024-25, the student count declined from 439 to 355. There were fewer students per teacher in 2024-25 (9.4:1) than in 2020-21 (17.6:1).
Families, students, and staff can use this page to discuss science fairs, picture day, and bus routes at South Plaquemines High School. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
Plaquemines Parish at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
22,803
Census ACS
Median income
$86,315
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
22%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
9%
Below federal line
Schools in county
9
4,283 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Plaquemines Parish
- Belle Chasse High SchoolHigh · 883 students
- Belle Chasse Middle SchoolMiddle · 656 students
- Belle Chasse Elementary SchoolElementary · 543 students
- Belle Chasse Primary SchoolElementary · 395 students
- Boothville-Venice Elementary SchoolElementary · 270 students
- South Plaquemines Elementary SchoolElementary · 205 students
Nearby schools
- Boothville-Venice Elementary School10.2 mi · 270
- South Plaquemines Elementary School10.7 mi · 205
- Grand Isle High School27.3 mi · 76
- Phoenix High School28.8 mi · 203
- Belle Chasse Middle School36.4 mi · 656
- Belle Chasse Academy41.3 mi · 773
Frequently asked questions
About South Plaquemines High SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at South Plaquemines High School?
South Plaquemines High School enrolls approximately 355 students in grades 07-12.
What age range does South Plaquemines High School serve?
South Plaquemines High School serves students from grade 07 through grade 12.
How many students per teacher at South Plaquemines High School?
Approximately 9.4:1 students per teacher at South Plaquemines High School.
What is the racial breakdown of students at South Plaquemines High School?
At South Plaquemines High School, the student body is approximately 28% White, 9% Hispanic, 45% Black, 14% Asian, 1% Two or more.
Is South Plaquemines High School public or private?
South Plaquemines High School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Plaquemines Parish.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.