APSBulletin - November 2022
Dr. John Barthelemy, Superintendent
SCHOOL BOARD
Honoray Lewis, Ward 1
Lee Meyer Jr, Ward 2
Andrea Barras, Ward 3
Electa Fletcher-Mickens, Ward 4
Jesse Robertson, Ward 5
Daniel Washington, Ward 6
Bambi Hood, Ward 7
Jessica Ourso, Ward 8
Doris Dugas, Ward 9
CALENDAR
Nov. 21-25 – No Classes, Thanksgiving Holiday
Nov. 29-Dec. 16 – Fall LEAP Retest for Grades 9-12
Dec. 7 – Half Day of Classes for Students, Professional Development for Teachers Half Day
Dec. 20 – 2nd Grading Period Ends
Dec. 21-Jan. 3 – No Classes, Christmas & New Year’s Holidays
The 4th Grade Class at Belle Rose Primary participated in the school’s Veteran’s Day program by presenting words of appreciation. The words used began with the letters in the word VETERAN.
Students at Belle Rose Primary held a special Veteran’s Day program to honor those men and women in the local community who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces. Several community members attended, including Former Marine Captain Phillip August, who was the guest speaker for the program.
Students sang various patriotic songs, including “Proud to Be an American,” “Grand Old Flag” and “God Bless America.” One class presented a poem on what veterans meant to them and another cited their appreciation by expressing words that began with each of the letters in the word VETERAN.
All Schools Earn Passing Scores, Belle Rose Primary Leads State in Improvement
All schools in the Assumption Parish Public School System earned a passing letter grade associated with their 2022 School Performance Scores (SPS), with Belle Rose Primary School recording the highest growth rate in the state, according to the accountability report released by the Louisiana Department of Education.
This year’s scores mark the first time in five years that no Assumption Parish school received a failing grade. The state last issued letter grades to public schools in 2019, prior to the COVID pandemic. In that report, Belle Rose Primary School received a failing grade; however, this year’s report shows that same school improving to a C rating.
Belle Rose Primary School grew more than any other school in the state, jumping 23.4 points from a SPS of 45.5 points in 2019 to a SPS of 67.9 points this year.
“We are very proud of the hard work that all our teachers and staff have put in to keep our scores at or near those levels where they were before the pandemic; and we are especially proud of the job that was done at Belle Rose Primary to improve at the highest level in the state,” Superintendent Dr. John Barthelemy said.
Barthelemy said the district maintained an overall B rating with a District Performance Score (DPS) of 78.7.
The state reported that the district has three B schools: Assumption High, Napoleonville Middle and Pierre Part Elementary; four C schools: Belle Rose Primary, Labadieville Primary, Napoleonville Primary and Bayou L’Ourse Primary; and two D schools: Belle Rose Middle and Labadieville Middle.
Assumption Schools Receives U.S. Department of Justice Grant
The U.S. Department of Justice recently announced that Assumption Parish Public Schools has been awarded a $468,750 grant from the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) for its school violence prevention proposal.
The COPS Office School Violence Prevention Program is a competitive award program designed to provide funding to improve security at schools and on school grounds in the grantee’s jurisdiction through evidence-based school safety programs.
“The project you will implement with these award funds contributes to mission of the COPS Office and the greater goal of reducing crime and building trust between law enforcement and communities served. The team at the COPS Office looks forward to supporting you as you implement this important work,” stated the letter from Robert E. Chapman, acting director of the COPS Office.
School Instructional Leadership Teams Partner with NIET to Strengthen Classroom Teaching
Members of the Napoleonville Middle School Instructional Leadership Team recently met with Superintendent Dr. John Barthelemy (center) and NIET Senior Specialist Amy Gayle (far right) to discuss processes to work with teachers on how to use student work to gain data on learning issues. Those NMS leaders are, from left, Master Teacher Jill Daigle, Principal Kathi Aucoin and Assistant Principal Dr. Kimberly James.
As part of the district’s strategic plan to improve academic performance throughout the parish, instructional team leaders are collaborating with teaching consultants with the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching (NIET) to identify ways to improve learning in the classroom.
NIET Senior Specialist Amy Gayle is working with instructional leaders on how to utilize student work to grow analytical and reasoning skills. Also, teachers are improving their professional practice by analyzing student work that is connected to grade level standards. The benefits of analyzing student work will help teachers understand the “why” behind student responses rather than the answer being right or wrong. This strategy is essential in identifying learning gaps and will be used by teachers so they can make better instructional decisions to improve outcomes for students on a daily basis.
“We are showing teachers how to use their student work to gather the data they need to identify individual learning gaps,” Gayle said.
“These exercises give us real time data and serve as real time checkpoints to know where our students are. By incorporating more student-centered activities in the daily lesson plans, teachers should have no surprises when it comes to what results are received at test time,” Gayle said.
Napoleonville Middle School Principal Kathi Aucoin said the information gained in the instructional leadership team sessions is critical to growing the district’s schools.
“We have to develop a growth mindset culture in all our schools. We have to know that as educators, our learning never stops. There is always a way to review what we are doing and make it better,” Aucoin said.
Aucoin noted that her leadership team routinely observes classroom teachers to identify ways they are effectively utilizing student data in their instruction and how to adjust to address learning deficits. Gayle often participates in those exercise to walk leaders through the process of what to look for.
Superintendent Dr. John Barthelemy said many schools began working with teachers to better utilize student work during the second half of last year. That effort has continued this school year and gained traction with more teachers, he said.
“Our plan is to build upon key elements, so we can properly grow and understand the “why” behind student responses to appropriate standard-based questions. That’s the only way we can truly evolve as better educators,” Barthelemy said.