The Rapides Parish School District is celebrating a landmark year for early childhood education, marked by record-setting performance and continued growth in access and quality. In the 2024–2025 academic year, the Rapides Early Childhood Network earned its highest performance profile to date—a remarkable 5.98—solidifying its position as one of Louisiana’s strongest early learning communities. This achievement includes 21 Type III Early Learning Centers receiving “Excellent” ratings, reflecting exceptional instructional quality and strong teacher–child interactions across the network.

Since 2019, Rapides Parish has expanded publicly funded early childhood seats by 8.48%, while simultaneously increasing overall Performance Profile scores by 13.6%, demonstrating a powerful combination of growth and rising quality. In 2025, the network also posted a DIBELS score of 44.6% at or above benchmark, the highest in Louisiana among networks with 18 or more centers—an indicator of strong early literacy development and school readiness.