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August 5, 2014
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August 5, 2014
The 2014-15 school year begins Aug. 12 as the Lafourche Parish Public School System is excited about the newest additions of North and South Larose elementary, continual increases in performance scores and the interactive learning for the pre-kindergarten program within the parish.
Instead of housing students in one place, the school board decided to cut districts in Larose, creating the two schools. North Larose’s district stretches from 9429 La. Highway 1 to the Intracoastal Waterway. South Larose’s district stretches from 9337 La. Highway 308 to the Highway 657 Bridge.
Both of the schools will now have students ranging from Pre-K to fifth grade. Prior to the additional schools, the small Lafourche Parish town had Larose Lower (pre-k through second) and Larose Upper (third through eighth). Lafourche Parish Public Schools Superintendent Jo Ann Matthews praised the community for its dedication in aiding the funding of the new schools.
“We worked very hard, and the taxpayers supported us in trying to upgrade our facilities. They have made sure that we have the best of what we can get,” she said.
The enrollment total will be somewhere between 14,000 to 15,000 students, which has been the case since 2006 when Matthews became the superintendent.
“Our enrollment has not changed drastically and we continue to be stable at this point,” she said.
DISTRICT PERFORMANCE
According to the data of the Louisiana Department of Education, Lafourche Parish Public Schools continue to see an increase in their District Performance Score. DPS totals all of the schools in the district based on LEAP, iLEAP, Graduation Exit Exams, attendance, dropout rate and graduating students. Recently the scale was changed from a score out of 200 to a score out of 150.
Lafourche has seen a continual increase in their DPS since as far back as 2008 (as far back as the data shows). Last year Lafourche scored a 94.3, which would equate to a B average. If the DPS was still out of 200, that would equate to a 111.9, surpassing 2012’s score of 107.3.
The total scores of the 707 students in Lafourche Parish equaled to an 18.9 overall. The highest overall was scored in Reading with a 19.2 and the lowest overall was in Mathematics with an 18.4.
PRE-KINDERGARTEN BOOST
This year, the Pre-K program will transition to a more technological friendly style of learning both inside and outside of the classroom.
“I always tell parents that the days of kindergarten where the biggest thing was writing your name and finger-painting are over,” Matthews said.
With the technology increasing and becoming more accessible, the school board is asking more of their tech-savvy youngsters.
“Today, kids are entering kindergarten with all of those skills because they need those skills,” she said.
The pre-kindergarten program is aligned with the National Early Childhood Standard and will use an interactive program called “Splash Into Pre-K.” The program teaches literacy, numeracy and social skills.
“We are excited about it, because teachers had been following the curriculum approved by the state, but they were having to create a lot of the lessons themselves. The program has is all programmed and every Pre-K teacher will now have the same material,” Pre-Kindergarten Supervisor Pam Folse said. “It was like Christmas for our Pre-K staff.”
The classes now have inert interactive boards set up to help aid in the learning process. Teachers can download videos and everyone can watch them together.
“A lot of children come in knowing the basics, and now we have students leaving knowing how to read,” Folse said. “They come to us more technologically savvy.”
The Pre-K program has also purchased new outdoor equipment for the children to play with through the Title-1 grant, LA-4 grant, 8G grant and the special education fund because the district has merged the classes together.
“Pre-K is a definite priority,” Folse said. “It appears to look like play, but the learning is very structured and focused on early childhood skills.”
The district has applied to pilot an early childhood program, which will be a collaboration between childcare providers in the district, head start and early childhood programs.
BUDGET SET FOR COMING YEAR
Tax collections are up for the 2014 school year and are expected to be up for 2015, according to Lafourche Parish Business Manager Don Gaudet.
The 2015 Ad Valorem tax estimate will be $39.2 million or $1.1 million more than the school received for 2014. The 2015 Sales and Use tax will be $33.3 million or $1.2 million more than the schools received in 2014.
“The State Minimum Foundation Formula allotment to the parish takes into account the growth of the tax base in the parish which has meant a decrease in support from the state as our tax bases have grown,” Gaudet said. “The district’s cots are rising in areas such as retirement meaning that all increases must come out of the increases in local revenues.”
The allotment of $1.4 million was used to give a one-time $1,200 supplement to Lafourche’s salaried public teachers and a $600 supplement to other school district employees. The total paid for all school employees was a little over $1.9 million.
In late 2013, the state passed a $69 million supplement to the state budget to represent the Minimum Foundation Program (MFP) 2.75 percent increase from the previous year. The 2015 base per pupil was $3,961, which is 2.75 percent greater than the 2014 base per pupil.
The district was suppose to receive the allocation for 2015 but did not because the per pupil capacity raised relatively higher than other school districts. Lafourche had a per pupil revenue of $4,468 which was ranked 25 in the state. By 2015, the price went up by about $400 per pupil elevating Lafourche to 21 in the state.
“Because we ranked higher in the state, the state’s share shrunk,” Gaudet said.
Although there are several changes for this year, Matthews is ready for the excited for the 2014-15 school year.
“We are ready to welcome back out students, teachers and staff members,” she said.
Students show their artistic talents at Central Lafourche High School.
