[StBernard] St. Bernard Parish public schools show big improvement, newly released scores show

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard Parish public schools show big improvement, newly released
scores show
Published: Thursday, October 07, 2010, 4:28 PM     
Updated: Thursday, October 07, 2010, 10:09 PM
 The Times-Picayune 
 
The performance scores of St. Bernard Parish's public schools skyrocketed in
the past year, led by big jumps at Chalmette High School and W. Smith
Elementary.


Each of the district's schools showed an increase over the previous year,
and each hit its yearly growth target, a sign that the school has improved,
the scores released Thursday by the state Department of Education show.

"We were the only district in the state where every school met its growth
target,'' Schools Superintendent Doris Voitier said. "We're really pleased.
It really shows that our programs we have put in place are effective.''

Voitier said St. Bernard Parish had the third-highest growth, by district,
in the state.

The performance of the district's schools even drew praise from state
Education Superintendent Paul Pastorek, who during a news conference called
them "pretty impressive.'' Pastorek was referring specifically to the number
of parish schools with a SPS above 100.

Four of the seven St. Bernard Parish schools were above 100 in the growth
scores - J.F. Gauthier Elementary, Joseph Davies Elementary, Chalmette High
and Andrew Jackson Elementary.

Andrew Jackson became a middle school this school year. Its students were
split between the new Arabi and Chalmette elementary schools, which both
opened this school year.

The scores are calculated using a formula of student test scores, attendance
and dropout rates for the 2009-2010 school year. Schools are also given a
performance label of zero to five stars. Schools scoring 60 or below get no
stars; schools scoring 140 or above get five.

The district's score climbed 6.1 points, to 98.4 for 2010, the data shows.
The state average was 91.8.

Voitier was pleased with the each of the schools's scores, but especially
praised the increased scores at Chalmette High, which had a 19.8-point
increase, and Joseph Davies, which had a 14.3-point increase. 

"We're just absolutely thrilled,'' she said.


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