Colonels say focus on scouting aiding successes
April 24, 2019
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS DRILL
April 25, 2019
The past 12 months have been prosperous for South Lafourche High School.
First, the school took home an A-rating in 2018 School Performance Scores and Letter Grades — the highest score of any local school and in the upper tier amongst high schools in Louisiana.
And now, they’re getting a chance to showcase their winning formula to educators around the state.
South Lafourche was selected to take part in Louisiana’s Ed Talks, which will take place at the 2019 Teacher Leader Summit later this summer in New Orleans. They’re recognized as a Premier School in Louisiana by the summit.
Principal Gaye Cheramie will make an address at the summit and a video will be shown detailing student and faculty interviews — a spotlight in what allows the school to be successful.
Cheramie said the honor is fulfilling — one which she believes shows the great team that’s in place at the school.
“I feel so proud of our South Lafourche High School family,” she said. “Being chosen as the Premier School for the Teacher Leader Summit is such an honor. It takes every member of the South Lafourche High School family for us to be at such an elite level. Each part of the family is important and everyone has to believe in each other.”
Family is a big piece of the equation at South Lafourche High School.
It’s evident as soon as you walk into the school’s doors.
People who attend the school feel a rich sense of pride at being part of “the family”.
South Lafourche High School is a rural community-based school. The vast majority of students are being raised by parents or relatives who are alums. Some of their grandparents are alums, as well.
There’s a sense of pride in being a Tarpon, and people in the community cherish the school’s role in developing youth.
Inside the school, itself, is a marvel.
On the walls lay student-created murals — a literal look at the creative minds who have roamed the halls in years past. The colors are crisp and the creativity and talent are ever-present.
Cheramie said a lot of the school’s faculty and staff are alums, as well, which help keeps that pride ignited — both in the classroom and in the halls.
“We have amazing faculty members who collaborate with each other to prepare lessons that will interest and engage students and still retain the
high rigor which is needed with the standards,” Cheramie said. “Our students set goals and work hard to achieve their goals. Our families support their children. Every member of the school staff is important — from the secretaries, paraprofessionals, custodians, bus drivers, cooks, nurses, SROs and anyone else who works with our students to maximize learning of all students. … We are proud of our school, community and heritage. We work to instill the same type of pride in our students. One of the most rewarding things that can happen to an educator is one of our students telling us they want to be a teacher and impact a life as one of our teachers did for them. It’s even more rewarding when they say they want to come back and teach at South Lafourche.”
Pride is a powerful motivator, but the Tarpons also have a plan of action to seek out their goals.
Cheramie said South Lafourche tracks every, single student for attendance, grades and discipline. She said teams meet every couple weeks to meet with students to track their progress, while working on ways to be better going forward.
“This gives us the opportunity to know our students and their needs and goals,” Cheramie said.
Another strategy the school utilizes is the utilization of teacher leaders. These are veteran staff members who take the role of leading and helping their colleagues create lesson plans and/or in preparation for standardized tests.
That teamwork, Cheramie said, has been vital to South Lafourche.
“In the past, teachers were many times an island on to themselves,” Cheramie said. “Now, teachers are not alone trying to decipher standards, create lessons, plan engaging activities and in creating assessments, which mimic the same type of format a student will see on a standardized test. … At this time in our country, the importance of teachers has been downplayed through the lack of pay and respect given to the profession and that’s caused a downward spiral in the number of people entering the teaching profession. So we work really hard to keep the teachers we have.”
So where does it all go from here?
Cheramie said South Lafourche will not get stagnant in the future. She said the school plans to take the accolades they’ve won in the past 12 months and build on them in the future.
She said every year is different, but added that the ultimate goal never changes, which is to properly serve every, single student in the halls on a given year.
“My goals for the future are to continue to improve upon the success we have had, be able to change to meet the needs of our students and have every student at South Lafourche High School meet their full potential as a student,” Cheramie said. “And we aim to graduate good citizens for our community.” •
