St. Charles school district ranks 3rd in state rating

Received ‘A’ in academics, culture

St. Charles Parish Public Schools ranked as third best district in Louisiana by the national website Niche.

St. Charles ranked behind only Zachary Community Public Schools and Orleans Parish Public Schools as per the Niche ranking, which the website said is selected based on academics, culture and diversity, health and safety, parent-student surveying, teachers, resources and facilities, clubs and activities and athletics.

Academics factor heaviest in the ranking.

“St. Charles Parish Public Schools is honored to receive recognition as one of the top school districts in the state,” said Felecia Gomez-Walker, superintendent of the parish’s public schools. “Teachers and employees work hard to provide engaging and high-quality learning opportunities for our students. It is appreciated when these efforts are noticed by others and our school system can be acknowledged for its commitment to providing a well-rounded, world-class education for all children of St. Charles Parish.”

The grades are based on an analysis of academic and student life data compiled from the U.S. Department of Education along with test scores, college data, and ratings collected from the website’s users.

St. Charles schools earned an “A” for academics, culture and diversity and resources and facilities; an A-minus for teachers, clubs and activities and sports; and B-plus for health and safety.

Rounding out the top 10 public school districts were Central Community in Baton Rouge, Plaquemines, Ascension, St. Bernard, St. Tammany, West Feliciana and DeSoto parishes. It continued the school system’s trend of ranking highly among its peers.

St. Charles Parish Public Schools was also recognized last year for maintaining an “A” grade for the 2015-16 school year, according to the Louisiana Department of Education’s annual district and school performance report.

Ten of the school district’s 15 schools earned an “A” rating as per the report.

The district’s score improved 5.4 points over the previous year.

Gomez-Walker cited the school system’s focus on continuous improvement, the leadership of its School Board and the commitment of its administrators and teachers to use the best possible practices as reasons the rank was possible, as well as strong support from parents and the community.