Berwick High School among the nation’s best

For the second consecutive year, U.S. News & World Report recognized Berwick High School in its America’s Best High Schools rankings.

The school received a bronze medal ranking in the 2009 edition based on its state proficiency standards and its students statistically compared well to similar students in the state.

“We received the award mostly because the achievement gap between our disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged students is almost nonexistent. It’s only 6.7 percent,” said Buffy Fegenbush, seventh-year principal at Berwick. “That shows we’re on the right track of educating all our students, not just certain groups.”

Students who qualify for free or reduced lunch, almost 37 percent of Berwick students, are considered disadvantaged.

“They have the right formula that allows them to achieve unprecedented success,” said St. Mary Parish Schools Superintendent David W. Aguillard. “They have figured out a way to educate all kids to high standards.”

One of the reasons Berwick has been acknowledged recently for its academic attainment is being years ahead of the curve on high school redesign, according to Fegenbush.

“A lot of the best practices that are just being pushed by the state, we started researching six years ago,” she said, “and implemented around five years ago. We’re seeing the results because of that.”

A prime example of this is in English. With the school schedules on the Carnegie Block (4 courses per semester), freshmen usually take English I for only one semester.

However, the Berwick teaching staff found entering freshmen had a disconnect between eighth grade English and English I. Now all first semester freshmen take a reading and writing course and the second semester they take English I.

“That has been in effect for four years. We’re able to find out their strengths and weaknesses that first semester and build on them,” said Fegenbush.

A similar program was employed in math. All freshmen take Algebra I and II unless they came from junior high with Algebra I credit. In their sophomore year, nearly all students “double up” or take two mathematics courses.

“So by the end of their sophomore year, students will have earned three or four math credits, which is what many people want for their entire four-year career,” Fegenbush noted. “And they do it. They don’t question it. I think if you make high expectations of all of your kids, and they’re all expected to do it, then it’s just the way it is.”

Berwick has also started a new attendance plan to help at-risk kids. If a student misses too many days, they can go through an “attendance recovery program.”

Truant students stay after school for Wednesday and Saturday detention. If a full day’s worth of afterschool time is made up, the school excuses one of their absences.

“We try and catch them before they fail,” Fegenbush said. “They are making up classwork and tests that they missed.”

The expectations are laid out for students in black and white: 90 percent proficiency on the Grade-Level Expectations (GLEs) and a 95 percent graduation rate.

While self-motivation is the key to whether most students succeed in school or not, some are quick to point to their instructors for helping them stay on the ball.

“The teachers always want us to do our best. They are very respectful to us, and the students are very respectful back to them,” said Alex Mayon, a senior with a 4.0 GPA.

“They do everything to make sure that we learn to our highest ability,” said Paige Boudreaux, a junior with a 3.75 GPA. “We expect that they teach us very well.”

In this era where the teacher’s job does not end in the classroom, Fegenbush asks her faculty to share leadership and provide a united effort to keep Berwick’s students on the road to success.

Twice weekly they have a “block team meeting” (Fegenbush and the teachers who have the same planning period), where they discuss curriculum. They call in students and talk about their grades as a group.

“This is the fifth school I have taught at, and I’ve never felt more a part of a team,” said Jennifer Loupe, second-year chemistry and physical science teacher and 1992 Berwick graduate. “I feel we all work really well together to meet our expectations. We always want to meet the student’s individual need, making sure we’re teaching to all students, not just the majority.”

“They don’t come to school just for the paycheck. It’s obvious by all the extra things that they do that they don’t get paid for,” Fegenbush said. “I appreciate that they’re willing to go above and beyond their paycheck every day that they are here. It’s a lot of responsibility. It’s a lot of extra work, but they don’t mind it. They know why we’re doing it.”

Despite the lofty prospects placed on students, they are not confined to the classrooms eight hours a day. The school takes a whole-student approach, encouraging students to be active in other matters, especially community service.

Boudreaux and her foreign language club peers adopted a Columbian orphanage and bought the kids clothes and toys to make sure they have a Christmas gift this year.

Mayon and the Top Cats (school dance club) had a canned food drive and collected over 1,000 cans this year.

Fegenbush is proud of what her school has accomplished and the honor bestowed on it, but there is one part that she could do without.

“I don’t like placing our students as advantaged or disadvantaged. Once they’re here, they’re just kids,” she said. “I don’t think we should label people. When you label people, you start to think of them in different ways, and we don’t do that here.”

The Berwick High School administration, faculty and students are not about to rest on their laurels. They still have big goals ahead of them: 90 percent proficiency and 95 percent graduation rate.

“I’m proud of the acknowledgment we have because we all work really hard,” Lupe said. “Not just the teachers, but the students. It’s nice to be recognized for your efforts. It feels like all the hard work you put in is paying off.”

“You have to raise the bar high. We think it’s doable,” Fegenbush said. “It’s not something that’s going to happen in an instant. Change takes a while to accomplish, but in a few years, we’ll get there.”