State education official comes to PJHS bearing Comeback banner

PATTERSON – Monday was a banner day for Patterson Junior High.

The banner, unfurled by Assistant State Superintendent Trey Folse at the school, marks PJHS as a Comeback Campus, one of 41 Louisiana schools that overcame pandemic and hurricanes to raise achievement levels in math and English for 2022.

The Louisiana Department of Education named the 41 schools as Comeback Campuses earlier this month, recognizing them for making gains in math and reading while schools across the state the country struggled with missed classes, lockdowns and the transition to remote learning.

Superintendent Teresa Bagwell joined Folse, St. Mary School Board members Ginger Griffin and Kenneth Alfred, Principal Lauren Rentrop and other school administrators on a brief tour of Patterson Junior High’s still-new campus.

Before the tour, Bagwell said middle school students are at an age that makes them a challenge when it comes to raising standardized test scores. Patterson Junior High poses an extra challenge in that fifth-graders are part of the student body, too.

The percentage of Patterson Junior High students who achieved Mastery in English language arts on LEAP tests dipped from 36% in 2019 to 33% in 2021 before rebounding to 43% in 2022.

At PJHS, LEAP math scores dropped from 22% Mastery in 2019 to 14% in 2021 before rising to 23% in 2022.

Statewide, 36% of fifth-graders achieved Mastery in English and 25% in math in 2022. Among Louisiana eighth-graders, 36% achieved Mastery in English, 21% in math.

Patterson was one of only seven middle or junior high schools to make the list of 41 Comeback Campuses.

So what’s the secret?

“That’s what we’re here to see,” said Folse, a former St. Tammany superintendent whose grandfather, Leonard Folse, was from Patterson. “We’re going to meet with the educators and see if we can put all this together.”

If enthusiasm can affect standardized school scores, Patterson Junior High may be on to something. The native language of Principal Rentrop and her staff seems to be smiles and exclamation points.

Music plays for students as they arrive in the morning. Friday is dance party day in the cafeteria, and even the cafeteria workers take part.

“Nice line!” Rentrop said as she led Folse down a hallway past students waiting to enter a classroom.

In the English classroom of Loraine Sinitiere –she’ll be retiring soon after 20 years – students learned tips for effective writing. They worked on a letter to Rentrop to object to indoor recesses.

Reagan Sanford's Algebra I students worked a problem with a 2-minute time limit. And Leah Begley's science students were learning about rock formations.

Also in the hallway, Folse and the administrators ran into Alisia Frederick, who was dressed as Mrs. Claus. She posed for a picture with Folse.

“I can see the passion of the teachers, the principal and the superintendent,” Folse said later.

“Louisiana’s students are coming back stronger, and this movement is being led by students, families and educators,” said State Superintendent Dr. Cade Brumley in a press release. “I look forward to visiting these campuses to recognize their progress and learn how we can accelerate further growth for the children of this state.”