By David Vitrano

L’Observateur

RESERVE – Following a year of landmark standardized test scores in St. John the Baptist Parish, the district received a little more good news from the state Department of Education when it learned East St. John High School has been removed from the academically unacceptable list.

“Hats off to Mrs. Patricia Triche and the entire staff of East St. John High School,” said Superintendent Courtney Millet.

The school has spent the past six years on the list and is the only school in the parish to have consistently remained an academically unacceptable school in recent memory.

The state Department of Education ranks schools according to their School Performance Scores, based on standardized testing as well as graduation rates.

“We have a great faculty and staff at East St. John High School,” said Principal Patricia Triche.

“We focused on high school redesign,” she said, adding, “We’re not even on the academic watch list. We’re off everything.”

Triche credited the school’s growth to the focus recently placed on refining teaching strategies and writing and literacy as well as the increased presence of technology in the classrooms. She said the school also increased its graduation index through the implementation of senior projects and dual enrollment and the addition of a graduation coach to the school’s staff.

Also, a bit more responsibility has been placed on the heads of the students through the use of student pledge sheets, where students look at their test scores and progress, pledge to improve and create action plans to execute that improvement.

“I credit our success to the teachers’ precise instruction and the focused delivery of the curriculum in our classrooms,” said Triche. “Our students, too, really worked hard to use all of the strategies we’ve taught them.”

The school’s SPS score has grown over 20 points — from 57.5 to 77.6 — since Triche took over as principal three years ago.

Millet also saw the growth as a direct result of new strategies introduced at the school in recent years.

“There’s no magic bullet,” she said. “It’s all about good teaching.”

The new strategies have worked to improve the quality of classroom time and have also helped change the students’ own perspective on schooling.

“Students are seeing that what they are accomplishing in school is applicable to what they want to do in the future,” said Triche.