Louisiana
Top 10 elementary schools in Louisiana, according to News & World Report’s rankings
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U.S. News & World Report has released a database comprised of the top elementary and middle schools in 2025 in each state.
The rankings of schools can even be narrowed down by city and district levels.
Top 10 elementary schools in Louisiana
There are numerous Louisiana elementary and middle schools ranked within U.S. News’ database, and here are the top ten best ranked elementary schools statewide in Louisiana.
No. 1 T.S. Cooley Elementary Magnet School
According to U.S. News, T.S. Cooley Elementary Magnet School, located in Lake Charles, is ranked number one in Louisiana elementary schools and is a part of Calcasieu Parish Public Schools.
The student population of T.S. Cooley Elementary Magnet School is 300, and the school serves K-5.
No. 2 Metairie Academy for Advanced Studies
According to U.S. News, Metairie Academy for Advanced Studies is ranked number two in Louisiana Elementary School and is a part of Jefferson Parish Schools.
Metairie Academy for Advanced Studies enrollment is 368 students, and the school is kindergarten through fifth grade.
No. 3 Gretna No. 2 Academy for Advanced Studies
U.S. News says that Gretna No. 2 Academy for Advanced Studies is number three in Louisiana Elementary Schools and is a part of Jefferson Parish Schools.
The student enrollment at Gretna No. 2 Academy for Advanced Studies is 357 and serves the grades pre-k through fifth grade.
No. 4 Airline Park Academy for Advanced Studies
Airline Park Academy for Advanced Studies in Metairie is a part of Jefferson Parish Schools and is ranked number four in Louisiana Elementary Schools, according to U.S. News.
Airline Park Academy for Advanced Studies’ enrollment is 418 students and teaches pre-k through fifth grade.
No. 5 South Highlands Elementary Magnet School
South Highlands Elementary Magnet School in Shreveport is a part of Caddo Parish Public Schools and is ranked number five in Louisiana Elementary Schools, says U.S. News.
The student enrollment at South Highlands Elementary Magnet School is 517 and the school serves grades pre-k through fifth grade.
No. 6 Westdale Heights Academic Magnet School
Westdale Heights Academic Magnet School is part of East Baton Rouge Parish Schools and is ranked number six in Louisiana Elementary Schools, according to U.S. News.
Westdale Heights Academic Magnet School’s student enrollment is 464 and the school serves pre-k through fifth grade.
No. 7 Fairfield Magnet School
Fairfield Magnet School, located in Shreveport, is a part of Caddo Parish Public Schools and is ranked number seven on U.S. News’ list of the top Louisiana Elementary Schools.
Fairfield Magnet School has a student enrollment of 515 and teaches pre-k through fifth grade.
No. 8 Ray St. Pierre Academy for Advanced Studies
Ray St. Pierre Academy for Advanced Studies is located in Westwego, which is a part of Jefferson Parish Schools, and is ranked number eight in U.S. News’ list of Louisiana Elementary Schools.
Ray St. Pierre Academy for Advanced Studies teaches pre-k through fifth grade and the enrollment is 336 students.
No. 9 Phoenix Magnet Elementary School
Phoenix Magnet Elementary School, located in Alexandria, is a part of Rapides Parish Public Schools and is ranked number nine in U.S. News’ list of the best Louisiana Elementary Schools.
Phoenix Magnet Elementary School serves pre-k through fifth grade and student enrollment is 351.
No. 10 B.R. Foreign Language Academy Immersion Magnet
B.R. Foreign Language Academy Immersion Magnet is a part of East Baton Rouge Parish Schools and is ranked number ten in U.S. News’ list of Louisiana Elementary Schools.
Immersion Magnet’s student enrollment is 548 and serves pre-kindergarten through fifth grade.
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The announcement follows a national search and a unanimous vote of a…
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Louisiana
AG Liz Murrill’s office can hire husband’s law firm to defend death sentences, court rules
Attorney General Liz Murrill’s office can employ the Baton Rouge law firm where her husband is a partner to help the agency defend death sentences, the Louisiana Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.
The decision in the case of condemned inmate Darrell Draughn of Caddo Parish clears the way for Murrill’s office to employ the Taylor Porter firm in other capital post-conviction cases as well.
Murrill has stepped into a host of post-conviction cases involving death row prisoners since Louisiana resumed executions in the spring after a 15-year hiatus. The Republican attorney general has said she’s intent on speeding up their path to the execution chamber, and a recent state law that Murrill supported forces many long-dormant challenges forward.
With the ruling, Taylor Porter attorneys are expected to enroll in more capital post-conviction cases for the attorney general. The firm currently represents the state in four such cases, according to Murrill’s office, under a contract that allows it to charge up to $350 hourly.
Among them is the case of former New Orleans Police Department officer Antoinette Frank, the only condemned woman in Louisiana.
Murrill’s husband, John Murrill, is one of about three dozen partners in the Taylor Porter firm. Capital defense advocates argued that the arrangement amounts to a conflict of interest.
Ethics experts say state law requires a higher stake than John Murrill’s 2.7% share of Taylor Porter to amount to a conflict. The state Ethics Board agreed in an advisory opinion in June, which the high court cited in its opinion.
The Louisiana Supreme Court earlier this year cleared Murrill’s office to represent the state in capital post-conviction cases when a district attorney requests it. Its ruling on Tuesday makes clear that the attorney general can outsource the work.
“Taylor Porter has been selected by the Attorney General pursuant to her clear statutory authority to hire private counsel to defend the warden and state. There is little as fundamental to a litigant as one’s ability to select the counsel of your choice,” the court stated.
Murrill says the government work done by Taylor Porter has been carved out from their income since she took office early last year.
“Neither my husband nor I profit off of this work. We won’t be deterred from our mission to see that justice is served, despite frivolous bad faith attacks from anti-death penalty lawyers,” Murrill said Tuesday in a statement.
Defense advocates, however, point to reduced funding for capital defense and a higher workload under the deadlines of the new state law. They say the state is paying outside lawyers at three times the rate of capital appeals attorneys.
“It’s just outrageous,” said James Boren, immediate past president of the Louisiana Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
“What is absurd is after the attorney general and governor and legislature decrease funding for capital defense, increase the workload, decrease the amount of time to do it, the attorney general’s husband’s law firm is awarded a contract for hundreds of thousands of dollars for less work.”
Prosecutors and capital defense attorneys both say it’s unusual to see a private law firm step into a post-conviction proceeding for the state. Taylor Porter is one of three contractors doing post-conviction work for Murrill’s office, according to state records show.
While the court freed the firm, one of its lawyers remains barred from representing Murrill’s office on those cases. The ethics board found that Grant Willis, who previously led appeals for the attorney general, must sit out for two years. The blackout period for Willis ends next month.
TALLULAH, La. (WLBT) – One of the two Goon Squad victims who later won a civil suit against Rankin County and the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department was arrested by the Louisiana State Police Wednesday night.
According to officials, Eddie Terrell Parker is currently being held in the Madison Parish Jail without bond on at least two pages of charges.
These charges include multiple narcotics violations, possession with intent to distribute, felon in possession of a firearm, and carrying a concealed weapon.
No other information has been released at this time.
This is a developing story. More updates will come as further information is released.
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