Elementary school (grades K-5) · Donaldsonville, LA

Lowery Elementary School

Federal NCES profile for Lowery Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 46/100.

2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 220009000047
0/100100/10046/100
👥 S:T ratio
58
🌟 Gifted program
30
🎓 Counselors
39
📋 Attendance
59
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Lowery Elementary School earns 46/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 93% of Louisiana schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Louisiana schools.

#3 of 4
public schools in Donaldsonville · Resource Index
46
Resource Index · Typical
10.6:1
small classes for Louisiana
87.9%
free-lunch eligible

Lowery Elementary School has class sizes smaller than 93% of Louisiana schools. Computed live against every Louisiana school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Lowery Elementary School ranks #3 of 4 public schools in Donaldsonville, LA.

Enrollment

307

Louisiana · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

29.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

10.6:1

vs 16.8:1 Louisiana avg

-37% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

87.9%

vs 62.5% Louisiana avg

+41% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Lowery Elementary School compares with Louisiana and U.S. medians

Smaller classes than state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Lowery Elementary School

Lowery Elementary School is a high-poverty, mid-sized elementary school in Donaldsonville, Louisiana, enrolling 307 students.

Classes run notably small here: at 10.6:1, Lowery Elementary School is leaner than roughly 93% of Louisiana schools and 37% under the state's 16.8:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.

Economic need is high: 87.9% of students qualify for free meals, 41% above the Louisiana average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.

Enrollment of 307 puts it in the smaller third of Louisiana schools by headcount.

Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 1,330 scored Louisiana schools.

Against 230 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #105.

Its student body is predominantly African American (90% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 19/100).

Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 307 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.

16.3% of students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 collection, in line with the post-pandemic national range.

Discipline events run high: 68 in- and out-of-school suspensions were reported for 307 students in the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.

Ascension Parish also operates Dutchtown High School (2,029 students) and East Ascension High School (1,894 students) alongside Lowery Elementary School.

Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25

How Lowery Elementary School compares

Lowery Elementary School on the metrics families compare, against Louisiana and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs Louisiana Louisiana avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 10.6:1 ▼ 37% 16.8:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 87.9% ▲ 41% 62.5% 51.7%
Enrollment 307 top 72% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

10.6:1
Leaner classes than 85% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
307
Bigger than 33% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
87.9%
free-lunch eligible - 41% above the Louisiana average of 62.5%
Well above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold, among the highest-need profiles in the state; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
10.6:1
students per teacher - 37% below state mean
Top 7% in Louisiana - lower ratio than 93% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
16.3%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 15-20% range, nearing the "high" absenteeism threshold.
Funding equity
$14,042
per pupil, district-wide - below Louisiana avg of $16,376
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 307 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
58
in-school suspensions + 10 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 18.9 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 22.1 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.

Overview

  • Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
  • Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
  • F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.

Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.

Student demographics

African American 89.9%
Hispanic or Latino 4.6%
White 2.3%
Two or More 2.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native 1.0%

Largest group: African American at 89.9% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 18.9/100

Simpson diversity index - at 18.9, Lowery Elementary School is less mixed than the Louisiana school average of 43.9.

Programs

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Ascension Parish, which includes Lowery Elementary School.

$14,042
Per student
-14%
vs Louisiana
Avg $16,376
-15%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 53.9%
State 32.2%
Federal 13.9%

Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.

How Lowery Elementary School Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Dutchtown High School Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
East Ascension High School Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
St. Amant High School Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Lake Elementary School Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Prairieville Primary School Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Lowery Elementary School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Ascension Parish · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar elementary schools statewide

Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Louisiana, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Lowery Elementary School's federal record.

Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.

Frequently asked questions about Lowery Elementary School

How many students attend Lowery Elementary School?

Lowery Elementary School has 307 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Donaldsonville, LA.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Lowery Elementary School?

The student-teacher ratio at Lowery Elementary School is 10.6:1, which is 37% lower than the Louisiana average of 16.8:1 and 32% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Lowery Elementary School?

87.9% of students at Lowery Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Louisiana average of 62.5%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Lowery Elementary School?

The largest demographic group at Lowery Elementary School is African American at 89.9% of enrollment, in Donaldsonville, LA.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Lowery Elementary School?

Lowery Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 46/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).

How does Lowery Elementary School rank among public schools in Donaldsonville?

By Resource Investment Index, Lowery Elementary School ranks #3 of 4 public schools in Donaldsonville, LA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all public schools in Donaldsonville on the city page.

Is Lowery Elementary School a good school?

Lowery Elementary School earns 46/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 93% of Louisiana schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Louisiana schools. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.

What other schools are in Ascension Parish?

Besides Lowery Elementary School, Ascension Parish also operates Dutchtown High School (2,029 students), East Ascension High School (1,894 students), and St. Amant High School (1,847 students). See the Ascension Parish district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

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Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.