In the first year of each parish receiving a letter grade (A-F as used with students) on the state of their education, Acadia Parish received a score of 91.7 which earned the parish a “C” grade for the performance scores.

The grading scale is as follows:

A =120-200

B =105-119.9

C = 90-104.9

D = 65-89.9

F = 0-64.9 

Though the “C” score for Acadia Parish may seem average, it appears promising when considering that 44 percent of the schools received failing grades. Only 29 other parishes received a “C” grade.

Acadia Parish showed an improvement of 1.1 points by increasing its District Performance Score (DPS) from 90.6 (Spring 2010) to 91.7 (Spring 2011).

The grade score was based on the recent release of data from the Louisiana Department of Education (LDE) indicates that Acadia Parish Schools have shown improvement in student achievement as measured by state testing (LEAP, iLEAP, GEE) and other state criteria.

Superintendent John E. Bourque stated, “I am pleased with the improvement in our district’s performance. This can be attributed to the dedication and hard work of everyone in our educational community. I am confident that we can and will continue to improve at all schools because of our commitment to children, and my goal is to continue working towards continuous improvement in student achievement from one year to the next.”

Nonetheless, state education officials were upset with the state’s performance.

“It is simply unacceptable to have 44 percent of schools earning D’s and F’s,” Board of Elementary and Secondary Education Member Chas Roemer said. “If we’re sincere about providing every child with the chance to attend a great school, we have to start by being honest and transparent about where we are and where we need to be.  Holding ourselves accountable in the same way we hold our children accountable sends a strong message that we won’t be satisfied until all our students attend A+ schools.”

Supt. Bourque commented, “You know the grading scale if you look at a ‘C’ is good but we, obviously, want to get better.” He reiterated, “All of our schools are working very hard to bring their scores up and I am proud of the hard work the teachers are doing in this parish.”

Twelve parish schools earned “D’s” and seven of those earned a D-minus: Armstrong Middle, Rayne High, Church Point Elementary, Church Point High, Crowley Elementary and South Rayne Elementary.

Four schools met the annual state growth target and received a “plus” mark: Central Rayne Kindergarten, Crowley Kindergarten, Evangeline Elementar, and Martin Petitjean Elementary.

Midland High School recorded the highest performance socre of 118.9, followed by Egan Elementary with a 117.2 score.

This is the first year that districts and schools received letter grades based on School Performance Scores (SPS). This replaces the “Five Star System’ utilized in previous years,

The state SPS is 93.9 and it receives a “C”.

Information about the performance of all our schools in the district and the state can be found an the Department of Education web site at www, doe,. state. la.us or www.lou isia naschools. net.