Story by Sonja Bailes, Special to the Press-Tribune
The Louisiana Department of Education’s annual report card for school districts throughout the state gave the Bossier Parish School System high marks.
Fourteen Bossier Parish Schools increased one or more letter grades, seven were named Top Gains Schools, and the district itself moved into the Top 10 bracket in the state. Bossier, once again, had no failing schools.
“We are very pleased with the significant gains we have made in both Student Performance Scores and our District Performance Score,” said Bossier Schools Superintendent D.C. Machen. “The results demonstrate how our administrators, teachers and students have been working most diligently to ensure improved academic performance.”
Schools receiving higher letter grades include Benton Elementary, Benton Middle, Bossier Elementary, Carrie Martin, Central Park, Cope, Curtis, Elm Grove Elementary, Greenacres, Haughton Middle, Kerr, LA New Tech, Plantation Park and Waller.
Those receiving A’s are Benton Elementary, which increased two letter grades, Benton Middle, Cope, Curtis, Legacy, Stockwell and W.T. Lewis.
Top Gains Schools include Benton Elementary, Central Park, Cope, Elm Grove Middle, Greenacres, Meadowview and Haughton Middle Schools. Because these schools had a 10-point gain in their School Performance Score index as set by the state, they will be receiving monetary compensation from the Department of Education. This makes a total of 19 of Bossier Parish’s 31 schools having received this prestigious distinction over the past two years.
As a district, Bossier Schools maintained its ‘B’ letter grade and moved up from 16th on the state’s new grading scale to 10th, only surpassed by the nine districts across the state receiving an ‘A.’
“These indicators, coupled with the teacher effectiveness ratings recently released, clearly show that the Bossier Parish School System being placed among the top 10 in the state is fully warranted,” Machen added.
