IDEA Innovation

Baton Rouge · LA · East Baton Rouge Parish · Public charter · K-12 combined

📄 Shareable scorecard →

📋 At a glance

Programs & features
Academic signals
  • 🎓 AP rigor: Bottom 6% of US high schools

Composed from federal CRDC offerings, EDFacts ACGR, and other public data. Full breakdowns below.

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How IDEA Innovation compares for families

What families should know about IDEA Innovation.

  • LocallyLA trails the US average on NAEP 8th-grade math (−9 points). Stronger local schools matter even more.
  • vs Similar SchoolsThe closest comparables nearby: East Iberville Elementary/High School, Capitol High School, IDEA Bridge and 5 more. See the sidebar to compare side-by-side.

For Parents

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SAT / ACT participation

CRDC federal data · 2020-21
SAT/ACT test-takers
0
11th-12th graders who took 1+ college admissions test
Test-taking intensity
0.0
takers per 100 students in grades 9-12

Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2020-21). Volume — not score — is what's reported here. A higher count means more students at this school are entering the college admissions pipeline. Note: 2020-21 was COVID-disrupted; some districts (especially those that stayed remote longer) report unusually low or zero takers.

🏛️ Federal Title I context

Title I Schoolwide eligible

≥40% FRPL — qualifies for Title I Schoolwide program

59.1%
FRPL rate — % of students who qualify for the federal Free or Reduced-Price Lunch program. This is the underlying federal income-eligibility signal Title I designations are computed from (ESEA Sec. 1113).
0% (no FRPL) 35% TA · 40% Schoolwide 100% (universal FRPL)

40-74% of students qualify for free/reduced lunch. The district can use Title I funds across the whole school under federal Schoolwide Program rules.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data, free/reduced-price lunch eligibility. The actual Title I designation is a district decision and may differ from eligibility — but the federal eligibility math is what we show here. We don't claim to assert whether the district formally chose to enroll this school in Title I.

🏛️ Your state's public flagship

Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College

74%
admit rate
$11,954
in-state tuition/yr · $28,631 out-of-state
1150–1330
SAT 25–75 · ACT 24–29

The in-state tuition gap is the flagship's biggest draw — most in-state families pay far less than the out-of-state sticker. Average net price after aid runs about $19,151/yr. Admission odds depend on your student's GPA and test scores, not which high school they attend.

See the full Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College profile → Estimate your odds with your scores →

Source: IPEDS admissions, tuition & enrollment + College Scorecard net price. Flagship = the state's primary public research university.

💰 Pay for college in Louisiana

Louisiana's public scholarships

Louisiana's TOPS pays public-college tuition by merit tier — the higher your core GPA and test score, the bigger the award. No income limit on any tier. Scores below are SAT / ACT.

Merit TOPS Opportunity
Public-college tuition
GPA: 2.50 core GPA Test: SAT 1030 / ACT 20 Income: No income limit

Entry tier — Louisiana public-college tuition for a 2.5 core GPA and SAT 1030 / ACT 20.

Official program details ↗
Merit TOPS Performance
Tuition + $400/yr stipend
GPA: 3.25 core GPA Test: SAT 1130 / ACT 23 Income: No income limit

Tuition plus a $400/yr stipend for a 3.25 core GPA and SAT 1130 / ACT 23.

Official program details ↗
Merit TOPS Honors
Tuition + $800/yr stipend
GPA: 3.50 core GPA Test: SAT 1260 / ACT 27 Income: No income limit

Tuition plus an $800/yr stipend for a 3.5 core GPA and SAT 1260 / ACT 27.

Official program details ↗
Merit TOPS Excellence
Tuition & fees up to $12,000/yr
GPA: 3.50 core GPA Test: SAT 1390 / ACT 31 Income: No income limit

Top tier (new for 2024-25): tuition and fees up to $12,000/yr for a 3.5 core GPA and SAT 1390 / ACT 31. (New top tier (class of 2024-25 onward).)

Official program details ↗
Merit TOPS Tech
Up to 2 years of technical / vocational tuition
GPA: 2.50 core GPA Test: SAT 920 / ACT 17 Income: No income limit

Career-technical tier — up to two years of vocational tuition for a 2.5 core GPA and SAT 920 / ACT 17. (For non-academic / career-technical programs.)

Official program details ↗

Eligibility rules change yearly — confirm with the official program before relying on it. Amounts are recent published figures; awards cover tuition/fees, not housing or books unless noted. Verified 2026-06-14.

Chronic absenteeism

Share of students absent 15+ days
19.4%
Roughly average. The national post-COVID rate climbed to ~16% nationwide; this school is in the middle of the pack.
Students absent 15+ days
155
Federal definition: absent (excused or unexcused) for at least 15 of ~180 school days — about 10% of the school year.

Why this matters to enrollment: Chronic absence is the strongest early indicator of dropout, transfer-out, and family disengagement. A school's absenteeism trend forecasts its enrollment trend 1-3 years out. For school leaders: an Enrollment Trend Audit traces this dynamic forward →

Source: U.S. Department of Education, Civil Rights Data Collection 2020–2021. Rate = students chronically absent ÷ 2024 total enrollment.

Counselor capacity

Student : Counselor
398:1
Around the US median. Counselors are stretched but functional.
Counselor FTE
2.0
Full-time-equivalent school counselors on staff.
Teacher FTE
33
Full-time-equivalent classroom teachers.

Source: U.S. Department of Education, Civil Rights Data Collection 2020-2021. Counselor ratio = the school's most recent total enrollment ÷ counselor FTE. The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) recommends a 250:1 maximum; the US national median across schools with on-staff counselors is roughly 430:1.

Enrollment trend & projection

Total enrollment went from 1,031 in 2021 to 797 in 2024 — over 3 years.
-22.7%

Total enrollment + grade 12, NCES Common Core of Data (2021–2024).

If the recent trend holds…

At its recent rate of -7.7%/year, projecting from 2024's 797 students:

2025
735
2027
626
2029
533

≈ 264 fewer students by 2029 — a real revenue/relevance risk worth getting ahead of.

An extrapolation of the recent trajectory, not a forecast of the school's plans; ignores one-off shocks.

Revenue at risk

At $17,359 per student in district revenue, the 264 students projected to be lost by 2029 represent ≈ $4,582,776/year in funding at risk.

District total revenue ÷ enrollment, NCES F-33. Public funding largely follows enrollment, so a shrinking class is a recurring budget hit.

Most similar nearby high schools

The schools most like this one — same type, blended on distance and size — and where their enrollment is heading. These are the schools families here weigh against each other.

SchoolTypeMilesHS enrollmentTrend
East Iberville Elementary/High School
St. Gabriel
Public 7.3 186 +14.8%
Capitol High School
Baton Rouge
Public 6.9 205 -20.8%
IDEA Bridge
Baton Rouge
Public · charter 7.6 205 +118.1%
Thrive Academy
Baton Rouge
Public 3.4 131 -8.4%
Southern University Lab School
Baton Rouge
Public 11.7 193 +20.6%
White Castle High School
White Castle
Public 13.4 185 -18.1%
EBR Readiness Superintendent Academy
Baton Rouge
Public 9.0 116
LSU Laboratory School
Baton Rouge
Public 4.2 470 -2.7%

For Parents

Researching colleges for your kid at IDEA Innovation?

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For School Admins looking at enrollment trends: request an Enrollment Trend Audit →