By David Vitrano

L’Observateur

RESERVE – East St. John High School Principal Patricia Triche recently got a chance to tout her school’s improvement plan to the St. John the Baptist Parish School Board.

She broke the plan into three sometimes-overlapping categories: rigor, relevance and relationships.

The rigor part of the equation deals with the intensity and benefits of the courses available to the students. By utilizing strategies such as the 12 powerful words and tutoring sessions, the school has managed to increase the quality of education for its students, said Triche.

Additionally, by adding components such as senior projects to the mix, the school’s curriculum is even more focused on readying the students for life after high school.

As for relevance, the school is attempting to make schooling more pertinent to students’ lives by incorporating career-ready elements such as dual enrollment at River Parishes Technical College. In fact, she said the school is preparing to enter into an agreement with the college whereby ESJ will share teachers with the college in exchange for tuition waivers for its students.

Triche said this program in particular is taking off. During the 2007-2008 school year, only 21 students took advantage of the dual enrollment opportunity. During just the first half of the current school year, however, 287 students have already taken part.

Other initiatives that fall under the relevance tag are the implementation of a number of technology-based platforms, including an iPod lab.

The third part of the improvement plan involves developing relationships both within the school and in the community as a whole.

Within the school this entails developing small learning communities. These communities group together students with similar career goals, such as those wishing to pursue careers in the fields of business, engineering and finance. While the school currently has a handful of these small learning communities, Triche said she hopes to add more in the near future. The school has also implemented the Wildcat Readiness Advisory Program, which, as the name implies, advises students on a variety of topics.

She said the school is also pursuing a full slate of special programs, such as the carnival ball and the Wildcat Top 10, to further enhance the students’ high school experience.

After the presentation board member Albert Burl III asked Triche, “Are all of those practices implemented as of this school year?”

Triche explained the plan is more of a guide, and teachers, while encouraged to use as much of the plan as possible, are free to pick and choose the elements they think would work best for them.

“Our best practices are based on good teaching,” said Triche.