Willie W. Bonvillain
November 20, 2013
Patterson still alive after hard-fought victory
November 27, 2013
Efforts to improve education in the Tri-parish region gained momentum this year, according to the 2013 District Performance Scores.
All three area school districts were ranked as “B” schools by the Louisiana Department of Education.
Lafoursche School District received the highest ranking with a 94.3 ranking; Terrebonne School District ranked 90.9; and, St. Mary School District followed closely with a 90.5 ranking.
Terrebonne Parish School Superintendent Philip Martin said he was very pleased, but not satisfied with this year’s rankings.
“I’m very proud of the district’s progress,” he said. “The rankings are a significant accomplishment and a credit to the hard work of our teachers, students and administrators.”
Martin said the district was only nine points form an “A” ranking.
“I’m excited about the future and I’m sure we will continue to progress,” he said.
School superintendents Jo Ann Matthews, of Lafourche, and Dr. Donald Aguillard, of St. Mary, were not available for comment due to the holiday.
Twenty-five other school districts in Louisiana also received “B” rankings, including Acadia, Allen, Assumption, Beauregard, Bossier, Calcasieu, Cameron, DeSoto, Grant, Iberia, Jackson, Jefferson, Jefferson Davis, Lafayette, LaSalle, Lincoln Livingston, Ouachita, St. James, St. Martin and St. Mary.
Only nine school districts received an “A” ranking. They included: Ascension, Orleans Parish (OPSB only), St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. Tammany. Vernon, West Feliciana, Zachary Community and Central Community schools.
The state also grades schools on a scale of A through F, just like students. According the state Department of Education, letter grades make it easy for parents and the public to understand.
The grades are calculated based on objective measures of student achievement, including test scores and graduation rates.
Today, the number of “A” and “B” schools – 471 – is higher than the number of “D” and “F” schools – 461.
In 2012, nearly one-third of all schools achieved expected growth.
Tara Soudelier, a fourth grade math teacher at Mulberry Elementary in Houma, helps students Paige LeCompte and Jace Bergeron during class. Terrebonne, Lafourche and St. Mary’s school districts all ranked as ‘B’ districts.
