Local Schools

Military dependents live throughout both parishes and in most cases attend school based upon residency. Children residing on base will most often attend Waller or Kerr Elementary, Rusheon Middle School and Bossier High School. Personnel forced to live on base may request a waiver to send their children to the school of their preference.

All schools have uniform dress codes.

Checklist for School Registration:

• Current immunizations records (Upon arrival:  Take to the base clinic to get a Louisiana shot record)
• Birth Certificate
• School Records
• Child's Social Security Number
• Current and past Individual Education Plan (IEP)    
• Psychological evaluations
• Relevant medical records

What's different from other school systems?

Louisiana's criterion-referenced testing program for grades 4 and 8 is known  as Louisiana Educational  Assessment Program (LEAP). Students in grades five and nine transferring to the public school system from any in-state nonpublic school (state-approved and unapproved), or home schooling program, or Louisiana resident transferring from any out-of-state school, shall be required to pass the English Language Arts and Mathematics portions of the state-selected LEAP placement test. The LEAP Alternate Assessments program (LAA 1 and LAA 2) has been developed for students with disabilities who cannot participate in the regular state assessments. High School graduate are required to complete 24 Carnegie credits as defined by the Louisiana Core 4 Curriculum, and pass the Graduation Exit Examination (GEE). The series of 4 exams consists of the English language arts and mathematics components, which is taken in the tenth grade, and the science or social studies portions, which are taken in the eleventh grade. All of the tests are conducted in the Spring.

There have been many recent changes because of the President's 2001 "No Child Left Behind" Education Legislation. A number of these affect military families when transitioning to a new location and their children must change schools. Military families should know that the new federal education law requires each school system to develop annual report cards with data showing how well the schools are doing academically. School research is key, when choosing a new school and school system for the military student. 

While the new required report cards must state whether the schools are identified as low performing, whether they have qualified teachers, and how the school compares to other schools, there are other factors military parents should consider. These include how well the local school districts work and partner with the installation, whether they have agreed to work with the specific needs and concerns of the military student that is mobile or has special education requirements.