Moving Forward

Three St. Landry Parish schools have been recognized by the National Network of Partnership Schools for programs that help explain the significance of tests and testing scores to parents.

The NNPS was stablished at the prestigious Johns Hopkins University in 1996 to help schools “organize and sustain excellent programs of family and community involvement that will increase student success in school.”

The organization recognized Northeast Elementary, Grand Coteau Elementary, and Sunset Middle School for programs to “ensure that families understand which tests are administered and the meaning of the numbers in reported results.”

In its current newsletter, the organization notes that for educators assessment tests such as those related to Common Core “are means to help identify students in need of extra or different teaching or academic support, but that “for families, the acronyms for various assessments may be mysterious. The results that are reported to parents on their own child’s scores … may be meaningful, but may also range from meaningless to overwhelming.”

In recognizing the three St. Landry schools the NNPS noted that “most families are not familiar with  terms such as PARCC” and that the schools “designed and conducted workshops to help families  understand the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) assessment, how the school’s curricula help students meet the learning standards on the exams, and how parents and other family partners can support their children’s learning to maximize achievement and success.”

Programs like the ones offered by the three schools “can be a powerful resource for improving student success in school,” according to the NNPS.

Workshops like the ones offered at Northeast Elementary, Grand Coteau Elementary, and Sunset Middle School “are critical,” the NNPS 

report continued, “because educators cannot assume family members understand what a ‘computer-adaptive test’ is, or the implications of their children scoring at, above, or below proficiency.

“With clear and timely information, families gain an understanding of the exams, their children’s scores, and how to guide children’s learning and attitudes about tests,” the NNPS said.

Brandon Bobb, principal at Grand Coteau Elementary, shares a philosophy with the other schools that were cited.

“We firmly believe that a home/school partnership is necessary for the success of all of our students,” Bobb said in a message to parents and students. “Research and experience shows us that a parent’s or guardian’s involvement in a child’s education is directly related to his or her success in school.”

Northeast Elementary, where Michelle Thibodeaux is principal, and several other schools in St. Landry offer an on-line “Parents Portal,” that is encouraged by NNPS to “provide families with information on test scores, report card grades, homework and missing assignments, attendance, and more.”

NNPS said tools such as Parent Portals are “vital” in helping parents know how their children are doing in school and helping them to “effectively support learning and academic achievement.”

These and other programs are part of an overall drive toward excellence, according to Marquet Rideau, principal at Sunset Middle.

“The goal of Sunset Middle is excellence,” Rideau says in an on-line message. “In striving to reach this goal, there must be a cooperative effort on the part of the students, teachers, administrators, parents, and community.”