St. Charles Parish schools get top grade on Report Card

Ranks among state’s top districts with A rating

St. Charles Parish Public Schools ranked among Louisiana’s top 10 districts with students exceeding state educational standards.

“St. Charles Parish Public Schools is pleased that it has retained an A rating as Louisiana transitions to higher expectations for student learning,” said Superintendent Felecia Gomez-Walker. “By the year 2025, an A school will be one in which the average performance is at the mastery level. To start the process of raising expectations, students in grades three to eight completed new, more rigorous state tests in spring 2015. The 2014-15 district and school performance scores should be considered a new baseline or starting point for achieving the state’s long-term goal.”

The Louisiana Department of Education’s 2015 report card is released yearly to help parents make school choices, school administrators to set annual goals, and state and district administrators to identify struggling schools for intervention.

Gomez-Walker added, during this transition period, that each school is developing plans for improvement so the system can meet the needs of every student.

“Our success can be attributed to the hard work of students, teachers, administrators and all employees,” she said.  “We also appreciate the support from parents, families and the entire St. Charles Parish community.”

Of this year’s 10 A ranking public school districts, St. Charles Parish schools ranked seventh with a performance score of 103.9 above Vernon, Livingston and Plaquemines parish school systems. Highest performer is Zachary Community Schools with a performance score of 114.1 followed by Orleans Parish Schools, 109.6; West Feliciana Parish schools, 108.4; Ascension Parish schools, 107.4; Central Community Schools, 104.4, and St. Tammany Parish schools, 104.1.

According to the 2015 report card issued by the state Department of Education, St. Charles Parish’s 9,474-student system exceeded state averages with 71 percent of students who took end-of-course exams prepared for college or career success over the state 62 percent average. The system’s average ACT score is 19.5 over the state 19.2 score average.

The school system’s 84 percent of students who finished high school also exceeded the state’s 75 percent state average and 81 percent average nationally.

On the school level, ratings fell at four schools: R.K. Smith Middle School and Luling Elementary both fell from a B rating in 2014 to a “C” this year; Albert Cammon Middle School and St. Rose Elementary both fell from an A to a B rating.

Allemands Elementary, Lakewood Elementary, J.B. Martin Elementary, Mimosa Park Elementary, Norco Elementary, R. J. Vial Elementary, Harry M. Hurst Elementary, New Sarpy Elementary and Ethel Schoeffner Elementary all maintained an A rating from 2014 to 2015.

Hahnville and Destrehan high schools both maintained a B rating from 2014 to this year.

The state’s education performance was rated a B or 88.8 score, down from last year’s 89.2, according to the Report Card.

Of the state’s 72 school districts, 10 systems got an A rating, including St. Charles Parish; those with a B declined from 30 to 28; those with a C increased from 21 to 23; those with a D decreased from 11 to nine, and those with an F rose from none to three.

State Superintendent of Education John White said grades have been kept steady intentionally during the move to the more challenging Common Core academic standards.

Gov.-elect John Bel Edwards has told voters he objects to Common Core, making it uncertain for Louisiana.This year’s statewide results are nearly identical to 2013-14 and 2012-13 results.

School and district report cards are based largely on test results. Grades are allocated on a 150-point scale.

 

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