Dismal City LEAP School Scores

A report published on November 16, 2022 indicated that schools in the state of Louisiana did better than expected when the state compared performance scores in 2022 as compared to those from 2021. That would be (and is) good news to state education officials, but the report also said that "a majority" of schools, not all, improved their scores. That being the case only highlights that more work is still needed. The scores come on the heels of numerous school disruptions caused by COVID-19 and natural disasters such as hurricanes. Both factors affected students across the state as school district officials had to make many health changes for students in the classrooms to ensure a sense of safety, giving parents some reassurance. State officials said the statewide school performance score was the same as before the pandemic, standing at 77.1 in both 2019 and 2022. The pandemic, if one will recall, began to wreak havoc upon the nation in 2020. In late 2022, health officials were able to come up with effective vaccines to inoculate the public after hundreds of thousands of people died. While most of the attention was given to the adult population, the school-age population was of particular concern because of the interactions of millions of kids in schools on a daily basis.State officials, perhaps, breathed a sigh of relief when made aware of the scores, as one official said that to be at the same level before pre-pandemic conditions was "something to be thankful for", but it showed many challenges still lay ahead. The task at hand is not only to improve the scores of all of the schools but especially those in the minority that didn't do as well. It's not that school officials are not aware of where the greater need should go, but if there is a more concerted effort to put those resources where the need is the greatest. Just as all schools are not equal, not all students are either. Many students from low-performing schools face far more severe everyday challenges than students who "are better off" simply because of their environment and other life factors. School has always been where a kid "could feel like a kid" without the added responsibility of being or acting like an adult because the school environment was designed for children to learn. School officials know which schools are underperforming, which would suggest more needs to be done, meaning more resources with different approaches. There are still too many students who have difficulty learning the basics, such as writing their names, reading, or doing simple tasks. That is a problem. As mentioned earlier about the environment, a student's cultural and living background should be considered. The elephant that will always be in the room, namely integration, is significant. Not all students from different backgrounds go to schools that are fully integrated. Some of that, many can say, is by design. That means that perhaps some teachers are not always suited to teach certain students. Attitudes of both teachers and students are also important for a productive learning environment. Every low-performing school in the Monroe City School District needs more resources. Teachers and individual school leaders know what resources are needed for their respective schools. Each school is different, and no one size fits all. Each school should have the autonomy to have resources that best fit their school, which should be the approach of those who oversee education statewide. Unfortunately, this is not how our education system operates, and those who can fix their school's performance aren't allowed and inevitably fail or fall below expected measurements. There's no accountability for all students' success. Generations of students have been stymied at school, and the mentality at school board offices remains. When will this problem be fixed, or will students remain content following the footsteps of prior generations? Where we are now requires more innovative approaches that speak to the resources at a school's disposal. How many resources should one use? As much as it takes to get the job done. Schools are much more than learning institutions. They are where kids learn about life, which enables them to look ahead and imagine what they want to be. Some may need to talk to a school counselor because there is no one else to talk to; many things can affect a kid's capacity to learn, especially if the necessary components are not there early on to help them. At some point, a kid will leave/graduate from school armed with what they have acquired over many years of study. If we are really concerned about how that student will fare out in the world, we should make sure that when that student says that they are a product of your school, make sure that everything is done to ensure that student will be a success because when there was more to be done, it was done.