Zachary school scores at top again

ZACHARY — All five of the Zachary Community School District’s traditional schools have school performance scores higher than the 120 points that the state Education Department expects all schools to attain by 2014, an administrator told the School Board.

The state accountability results released Tuesday show Zachary was the state’s highest-performing district for the eighth consecutive year, with its 134.7 “baseline” performance score edging Orleans Parish by nine-tenths of a point.

The Orleans Parish schools are those not included in the state-run Recovery District and, unlike Zachary, include some schools with selective admission policies.

Academic Accountability Supervisor Karin Lawless said Thursday’s the score put Zachary among seven districts with A ratings for 2012. Zachary was the state’s only A-rated district last year.

Baseline performance scores include two years of data.

The district is holding a community gathering at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the high school football stadium to celebrate the top ranking.

The performance scores for Zachary’s five traditional schools were Zachary High, 149.9; Zachary Elementary, 126.6; Northwestern Elementary, 126.2; Northwestern Middle, 124.5; and Copper Mill Elementary, 121.1.

Every school in the district showed academic growth in the past school year, including Port Hudson Career Academy, an alternative school that achieved a school performance score of 64.1, up from 2011’s score of 43.

The state ranks Port Hudson’s performance according to the same criteria it ranks other schools, but Zachary has petitioned the Education Department to change to a system that acknowledges the school’s role in educating students who otherwise might drop out.