Evangeline upset by new school grading
VILLE PLATTE — Evangeline Parish Superintendent Toni Hamlin told the School Board on Wednesday that she is “flabbergasted” by a new state policy on evaluating schools.
Hamlin said she and members of her staff recently participated in a conference call with new State Superintendent of Education John White, during which they learned that each school will be graded on two factors: school ACT scores and the school’s graduation rate.
“This is discouraging our school principals, since only about 20 percent of our graduates enter college,” she said. The new policy will mandate that every high school junior take the American College Test, which will be paid for by the state, she said.
She also said that the state will be asking the U.S. Department of Education for a waiver from the federal No Child Left Behind program. As a trade-off, the state will adopt a new, tougher evaluation system, in which half of the evaluation will be based on student achievement, she said.
“This will be a tremendous challenge to our school principals since only principals will be able to conduct the evaluations for schoolteachers,” said Hamlin. In the past, both principals and their assistants could provide monitoring and evaluations.
Other action Wednesday before the school board included:
FIRST STUDENT CONTRACT: The board awarded First Student a new three-year contract to provide transportation services.
The winning quote was $2.4 million, which is $293,000 below Durham Transportation, the second-lowest bidder.
The third quote came from a Massachusettes company, Student Transportation of America.
Transportation Supervisor Ted Soileau said the new contract stipulates that all buses have security cameras and a GPS tracking system.
Most of the buses are owned and operated by First Student, but Soileau said there are still a few driver-owned school buses.
STUDENTS OF THE YEAR: The board recognized Kirsten Goodley, a fifth-grade student at Mamou High; Layton Langley, an eighth-grade student at Basile High; and Garrett Cantu, a senior at Ville Platte High School.
HEAD FOOTBALL COACH: The board appointed Kevin Manuel as new head football coach at Mamou High School.