Central Schools Earn ‘A’ from State Dept.

Until Now, Only Zachary Earned ‘A’ Rating from Education Dept.

by Woody Jenkins, editor

BATON ROUGE — The Central Community School System has received a coveted “A” rating from the Louisiana Department of Education, as a result of School and District Performance Scores released Tuesday.  Until now, only the Zachary Community School System had received an “A” rating from the state.

Supt. Mike Faulk said the score is the culmination of the efforts of Central’s teachers, students, parents, school board, and community.  Overall, Central ranked 4th among Louisiana’s 69 public school system.  More than in past years, the ratings reflected students’ test scores.  Other factors, such as attendance and drop out rates, carried less weight this year.

The grading scale for individual schools and school systems is as follows:

2012 La. Dept. of Education

Grading System

“A” Grade 120 to 200

“B” Grade 105 to 119.9

“C” Grade 90 to 104.9

“D” Grade 75 to 89.9

“F” Grade   0 to 74.9

The top-performing school systems in the state were:

2012 La. Dept. of Education

District Performance Scores

Zachary Schools 134.7

Orleans Parish 133.8

West Feliciana 124.3

Central Schools 124.1

Plaquemines 123.0

St. Tammany 122.8

Ascension 121.2

Vernon Parish 118.3

St. Charles Parish 118.3

Livingston Parish 117.4

The score for Orleans Parish is a bit deceiving because very few schools are left in the Orleans school system after the state’s takeover of failing schools and the creation of a large number of charter schools in that parish.

On Wednesday, Central school Supt. Mike Faulk told the Central City News, “We’re very pleased that every one of our schools made progress… The key to our continued progress has been our emphasis and investment in professional development for our teachers, administrators, and staff.”

“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 emphasized the importance of the school system’s three-day summer training session each year.  “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.”

School board president Dr. Jim Gardner reacted to the “A” rating by saying, “Congratulations go to our students, teachers, administrators, staff, and the superintendent.  All have worked very hard and deserve our praise.  I am very proud of their efforts.  Go Wildcats!”

Board vice president Will Easley said, “We are on our way to the top, thanks to great students, teachers, Mr. Faulk, and the community!  Plus our school board is second to none!” he laughed.

Former school board president and English teacher Sharon Browning said, “With such dedication and hard work from all involved, the sky is the limit for the Central Community School System!”