As predicted, J.W. Faulk Elemetary, Northside High and Alice Boucher Elementary schools have joined the list of academically unacceptable schools in the state.
Three low-performing north Lafayette schools have joined the list of 180 schools across the state that have been labeled academically unacceptable by the state Department of Education.
J.W. Faulk Elementary, Northside High and Alice Boucher Elementary schools received 2012 school performance scores of 65.1, 74.4 and 69.5, respectively. J.W. Faulk's score is down two points over last year, while Alice Boucher's SPS has increased its score by a little more than two points.
Northside has shown the most improvement of the three, raising its score more than six points over last year. The north Lafayette high school, which underwent major administrative and staffing changes this year at the recommendation of Superintendent Pat Cooper, falls six-tenths of a point below the new state benchmark SPS of 75. Schools that fall below 75 are given a letter grade of F and placed on the list of academically unacceptable schools.
The three schools managed to avoid failing status last year by edging above the 2011 SPS benchmark of 65, but the new minimum standards for 2012 had LPSS officials predicting a year ago that these same schools would be labeled as academically unacceptable by the 2012 school year.
If the schools fail to make it off of the academically unacceptable list within four years, they could face takeover by the state, though Cooper's six-year district turnaround plan includes several new strategies aimed at lowering the achievement gap that exists within north Lafayette schools.