School
State Gives Central Schools an “A”
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Press Release – Taylor Media
The Central Community School System received an “A” grade from the State Department of Education and a No. 4 ranking among statewide public school districts, according to the latest school performance report released Monday (Oct. 22) by the Louisiana Department of Education.
Central Schools earned a District Performance Score of 124.1 points, making it one of only seven districts to exceed the 120 mark and receive the state’s top letter grade.
The latest score is the district’s highest score since it began receiving performance grades from the state three years ago. Over that time, the district has improved its score each year. The 2012 score of 124.1 is 14.1 points better than the 2011 score of 110, which was better than the district’s 2010 score of 107.6, up from the 2009 score of 105.8. Central does not have a District Performance Score prior to 2009 because the state’s scoring formula requires at least two years of testing data from a district before a score can be given. Central Schools first opened in 2007.
“The key to our continued progress has been our emphasis and investment in professional development for our teachers, administrators and staff,” Superintendent Michael Faulk said.
“We are focused on those things that transfer into the classroom and impact student learning,” he said. “Our teachers have been receptive to the training given to them, and they have worked hard to implement learning strategies that work for all their students, at every school and in every classroom.”
Faulk noted that district educators take part in a three-day summer training session each year to look at effective learning initiatives, to speak with education experts and to work with other teachers to incorporate best learning tools into their lesson plans.
“We do our training in the summer and we pay our teachers to attend,” he said. “We just believe that it’s better to invest in this type of training, rather than taking our teachers out of class and having to pay a substitute to manage their class while they are away. This way, our teachers are getting the training and we’re keeping them in the classroom more.”
The state report also announced the School Performance Scores and letter grades for individual schools. Three of Central’s five campuses received “A” grades.
Central High School received the district’s highest score of 135.1, up 2.2 points from last year’s score of 132.9. Tanglewood Elementary earned 128.9 points, up 6.8 points from last year’s score of 122.1, and Bellingrath Hills Elementary received 127 points, up 6.5 points from last year’s score of 120.5.
Central Intermediate School was awarded 114.5 points for a “B” grade, and Central Middle School received a “C” grade for its 104.1 score – just nine-tenths of a point shy of the higher letter grade. Both schools enjoyed significant improvement from last year’s scores, growing 7.5 points and 4.5 points, respectively.
The state awards letter grades to schools and districts according to a 0-to-200 grading scale – “A” is 120-200, “B” is 105 to 119.9, “C” is 90 to 104.9, “D” is 75 to 89.9, and “F” is 0 to 74.9.
Those school districts earning 120 points or more to receive the state’s “A” grade include Zachary Community Schools with 134.7 points, Orleans Parish with 133.8 points, West Feliciana Parish with 124.3 points, Central Community Schools with 124.1 points, Plaquemines Parish with 123 points, St. Tammany Parish with 122.8 points, and Ascension Parish with 121.2 points.
Other schools rounding out the state’s Top 10 with “B” grades include Vernon Parish and St. Charles Parish, both with 118.3 points, and Livingston Parish with 117.4 points.
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