Florida Parish News

There were 1,308 eighth grade students enrolled in Tangipahoa Parish schools in the 2023-24 school year, 11.5% less than the previous year, according to the Louisiana Department of Education.

Ponchatoula Junior High School welcomed the most eighth grade students in the parish.

Within Tangipahoa Parish schools, the most students were found in ninth grade classes, while eighth grade classes were the smallest.

Statewide, Tangipahoa Parish ranked 13th highest in enrollment numbers, the same as the year before.

According to a 2023 Scholaroo study, Louisiana's education system ranked 49th in the U.S., only ahead of Arizona. The state ranked poorly in key metrics such as school quality, student achievement, and student safety.

School name	Number of 8th Grade Students Enrolled	% of Student Body	Total Enrollment
Ponchatoula Junior High School	334	46.8%	713
Loranger Middle School	141	25.1%	562
Hammond Eastside Magnet	125	9.5%	1,322
Champ Cooper Elementary School	104	9.3%	1,123
Jewel M. Sumner Middle School	98	31.4%	312
Hammond Westside Montessori	91	8.9%	1,027
Greenville Park Leadership Academy	79	18.5%	427
Amite Westside Middle Magnet	70	25%	280
Independence High Magnet	63	13.2%	479
Natalbany Middle School	61	16.9%	362
Kentwood High Magnet School	40	13.3%	300
Lucille Nesom Memorial	34	7.4%	460
Roseland Montessori	32	7.7%	414
Southeastern La University Lab School	27	10.5%	256
Florida Parishes Juvenile Detention Cntr.	9	13.4%	67