Reading materials will help literacy shortcomings, St. Mary exec says

St. Mary Parish School District is declaring a war on illiteracy.

As the school year draws nearer, school officials are trotting out the big guns: New and innovative reading materials aimed at helping students.

“We are excited about the things we have already achieved, and we are on target this year to eliminate the concept of low-performing schools in St. Mary Parish, which is evident by the preliminary testing data that was released in the spring,” said Superintendent Dr. Donald Aguillard.

The public school system is expecting to enroll a little more than 9,600 students from pre-kindergarten to 12th grade. The numbers could fluctuate because the parish is adding two new pre-K classes this year.

Enrollment is continuing for the pre-K and kindergarten classes, Aguillard said.

In preparation for the school year, a number of teachers and support staff took advantage of the numerous summer in-service programs offered by the school system.

“Teachers are coming in to develop their instructional skills that will help our students continue to grow in the classroom,” the superintendent said.

Aguillard said the school system has to be optimistic when addressing academic challenges.

That is why the St. Mary School Board purchased $1 million worth of reading materials to increase the literacy rate in the lower grade levels.

“We are bringing in a whole new mode and method of teaching reading in the parish,” he boasted. “This year, we are focusing on improving the literacy rate in our school system.”

Last spring, the reading intervention program “Fast Forward” was introduced to eight elementary schools across the parish.

Students who attended remediation programs during summer school also used “Fast Forward.”

“Student improvement at those eight schools was so significant that the board authorized us to purchase the program for all the elementary and middle schools in the parish,” Aguillard said. “If we can fix the literacy issues in the school district, then our students will continue to see improvements on their exams,”

He added, “We have the tools to improve public education in St. Mary Parish.”

Unlike other school systems in the Tri-parish area, St. Mary does not have a problem with overcrowding, so construction projects are more along the lines of “school improvements.”

Morgan City High School will have four sets of modernized bathroom facilities throughout the school. Aguillard said the bathrooms were gutted and rebuilt over the summer. The school will also have a newly paved bus driveway with a canopy and a weight room, which was built onto the ROTC building.

Wyandotte Elementary School, also in Morgan City, will have a new multipurpose building. Several walkways have been erected near classrooms that have outside opening doors handles.

Aguillard said the system is ready for opening day.

The only outstanding bit of business is waiting on the summer retest results for the Louisiana Education Assess-ment Program.

Exam scores are scheduled to be released on Aug. 4, four days before schools begins on Aug 8.

“Our accountability department will look at the school immediately so that we can know if the students are being promoted or retained in their respected grade level,” he said.