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St. Mary Parish students who took the LEAP test in the last school year bucked a statewide trend, according to scores released by the Louisiana Department of Education.
Louisiana public school students in grades 3 through 8 take the LEAP test each year. When 2016-17 LEAP test results were announced last week, Superintendent John White characterized the statewide scores this way: Improving in English, declining in math and stagnant in science.
But St. Mary Parish has seen growth since 2015 in all three subject areas. The 2016-17 scores were up 8 percentage points in English, 5 in math, and 6 in science.
St. Mary Parish Assistant Superintendent Theresa Bagwell said that since the state’s proficiency standard is mastery, the school district is focused on steady and sustained gains in mastery and advanced levels.
“As school and district staff analyze score re-ports, information will be used to assist teachers in making improvements that will include both remediation and acceleration of skill levels,” said Bagwell.
White said that a 10-year plan is in place to increase mastery level scores by 2025. Starting in the 2017-18 school year, teachers will be assisted in the assessment and tailoring to specific needs of students using tools such as LEAP 360, an assessment tool that evaluates students against expected standards on the LEAP test.
Short courses with the College Board, the makers of the SAT, and Khan Academy, a free online tutoring website that can be used by students, parents and teachers, will also be provided for assistance.
White said that the science curriculum will get a complete overhaul with an improved high-quality curriculum and more extensive training of teachers.
The percentage of test takers who scored mastery or above in English, math, and science in St. Mary Parish:
—At J.S. Aucoin Elementary, 47 percent in English, up 3 points since 2015 and down 7 points since 2016; 49 percent in math, up 6 points from 2015 and down 12 points since 2016; 19 percent in science, down 13 points from 2015 and down 5 points from 2016.
—At Bayou Vista Elementary, 70 percent in English, up 19 points since 2015 and up 5 points from 2016; 63 percent in math, up 18 points from 2015 and down 10 points from 2016; 41 percent in science, up 2 points from 2015 and down 7 points from 2016.
—At Berwick Elementary, 60 percent in English, up 12 points from 2015 and up 2 points from 2016; 54 percent in math, up 7 points from 2015 and down 7 points from 2016; 31 percent in science, up 4 points from 2015 and down 9 points from 2016.
—At Berwick Junior High, 65 percent in English, up 7 points from 2015 and 2016; 34 percent in math, down 9 points from 2015 and up 3 points from 2016; 40 percent in science, up 7 points from 2015 and up 3 points from 2016.
—At Centerville High, which carries all grade levels which take the LEAP Test, 37 percent in English, up 3 points from 2015 and 2016; 36 percent in math, up 6 points from 2015 and up 1 point from 2016; 24 percent in science, up 4 points from 2015 and up 2 points from 2016.
—At W.P. Foster Elementary, 34 percent in English, up 12 points from 2015 and up 2 points from 2016; 26 percent in math, up point from 2015 and down 12 points from 2016; 14 percent in science, up 5 points from 2015 and up 3 points from 2016.
—At Franklin Junior High, 34 percent in English, up 4 points from 2015 and up 3 points from 2016; 19 percent in math, down 6 points from 2015 and down 3 points from 2016; 11 percent in science, down 1 point from 2015 and down 5 points from 2016.
—At LaGrange Elementary, 26 percent in English, up 3 points from 2015 and down 11 points since 2016; 29 percent in math, up 8 points from 2015 and same score from 2016; 11 percent in science, up 10 points from 2015 and up 6 points from 2016.
—At Julia B. Maitland, 27 percent in English, down 8 points from 2015 and up 1 point from 2016; 25 percent in math, down 2 points from 2015 and down 12 points from 2016; 12 percent in science, up 4 points from 2015 and down 2 points from 2015.
—At Morgan City Junior High, 40 percent in English, up 3 points from 2015 and down 3 points from 2016; 32 percent in math, up 3 points from 2015 and up 2 points from 2016; 30 percent in science, up 6 points from 2015 and down 1 percent from 2016.
—At Patterson Junior High, 36 percent in English, up 5 points from 2015 and up 2 points from 2016; 24 percent in math, up 2 points from 2015 and up 1 point from 2016; 20 percent in science, up 7 points from 2015 and same as 2016.
—At Hattie A. Watts Elementary, 59 percent in English, up 16 points from 2015 and up 6 points from 2016; 41 percent in math, up 9 points from 2015 and down 10 points from 2016; 27 percent in science, up 13 points from 2015 and down 4 points from 2016.
—At Wyandotte Elementary, 61 percent in English, up 17 points from 2015 and down 1 point from 2016; 60 percent in math, up 21 points from 2015 and down 6 points from 2016; 29 percent in science, up 5 points from 2015 and down 7 points from 2016.
—At M.E. Norman Elementary, 64 percent in English, up 27 points from 2015 and up 11 points from 2016; 53 percent in math, up 14 points from 2015 and down 5 points from 2016; 37 percent in science, up 10 points from 2015 and up 3 points from 2016.
—At B. Edward Boudreaux Middle, 27 per-cent in English, up 1 point from 2015 and up 2 points from 2016; 22 percent in math, down 4 points from 2015 and down 8 points from 2016; 13 percent in science, up 3 points from 2015 and up 1 point from 2016.
—At Raintree Elementary, 31 percent in English, up 7 points from 2015 and up 9 points from 2016; 28 percent in math, up 10 points from 2015 and down 4 points from 2016; 13 percent in science, up 6 points from 2015 and up 5 points from 2016.

Funeral Services will be held at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, July 19, 2017 at Delhomme Funeral Home - Bertrand for Allen Farrell Calcote, 93, who passed away on July 17, 2017.
Allen was a U. S. Army Veteran who served in World War II. He received a Masters Degree in Education from the University of Mississippi and taught for 33 years at Franklin High. Allen was a Mason and a member of the VFW in Franklin.
He is survived by his son, Michael Calcote and wife, Laurie; one grandson, Evan Calcote; one niece and one nephew.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Ernest and Ollie King Calcote; spouse, Mary Calcote; son, Paul Calcote; three brothers; one sister and a nephew.
The family requests that visiting hours be observed at Delhomme Funeral Home - Bertrand on Wednesday, July 19, 2017 from 2 p.m. until 8 p.m.
The family would like to thank the staffs of Harbor Hospice, Asbury United Methodist Church and his sitters for their compassionate care.
Personal condolences may be sent to the Calcote family at www.delhommefuneralhome.com.
Delhomme Funeral Home, 1011 Bertrand Drive, Lafayette, La. is in charge of funeral arrangements.
(Paid Notice)

BATON ROUGE — Republican John Kennedy spent many of his 17 years as Louisiana state treasurer quarrelling with governors, criticizing spending practices and generally raising the profile of an office that hadn’t drawn nearly as much attention before he held the job.

The top contenders vying to follow him into the position may run into the same problem he found, however. Louisiana’s treasurer has a megaphone to raise the profile of the state’s financial issues, but the job doesn’t come with a lot of power to fix them.

A governor and Louisiana’s Legislature chart the spending policies for the state, deciding how the budget will be balanced and what dollars they’ll use. State lawmakers determine who will be taxed and by how much.

Louisiana’s treasurer is essentially the state banker, investing, disbursing and managing the state’s money and its savings accounts. The treasurer also chairs the Bond Commission, which oversees state borrowing and debt levels.

Kennedy won election to the U.S. Senate and took the seat in January. An Oct. 14 special election has been scheduled to choose a successor for the man who had been Louisiana’s treasurer since 2000. Outspoken, folksy and quick with a quotable soundbite, Kennedy drew attention to the office after getting into several high-profile clashes with governors both Republican and Democrat over spending and budget-balancing tactics.

“He brought it to the forefront, the role being showing the people and letting them know where wasteful spending is going on,” said state Sen. Neil Riser, a Republican running for the treasurer’s job. “He did a good job of doing that, and I also want to do that.”

Kennedy was one of the earliest — and loudest — critics of Republican former Gov. Bobby Jindal’s use of patchwork financing and raided savings accounts to piece together the budget, practices that continued cycles of budget shortfalls.

Before that, he sparred with Democratic former Gov. Kathleen Blanco over construction financing and borrowing policies. Most recently, he clashed with Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards over Edwards-backed tax hikes and spending plans.

But while Kennedy sometimes could force change by drawing consistent attention to an issue, more often he was simply yelling from the sidelines, an approach that got him accused of showboating.

The position’s limitations didn’t stop the three top candidates in the race — those with backgrounds in state government and reported fundraising — from talking about Louisiana’s entrenched, lingering budget woes as though the treasurer had some ability to solve them.

The major candidates include: Riser, a funeral home owner from Caldwell Parish who once chaired the Senate tax committee; Angele Davis, a Baton Rouge Republican who worked as a budget administrator for former Gov. Mike Foster and as Jindal’s top budget adviser for two years; and former state Rep. John
Schroder, a Republican businessman from St. Tammany Parish who spent years in the House criticizing state spending levels and financing schemes.

As they registered for the ballot last week, each directly or indirectly referenced Louisiana’s ongoing financial troubles: a decade of midyear shortfalls, a budget gap of more than $1 billion on the horizon and recently downgraded credit ratings.

They said they wanted to be Louisiana’s next fiscal watchdog, hoping to influence change.

“With my qualifications and experience, I expect to bring solutions to the table,” Davis said.

New Orleans lawyer Derrick Edwards, a Democrat in the race with no reported fundraising so far, said the treasurer should focus on “letting people know exactly how their tax dollars are being spent,” through a quarterly report.

Riser and Davis similarly said they’d bolster efforts to tell people where their taxes go.

Schroder said he’d have far more influence as treasurer than he could as one of 105 House members. He said the treasurer gets more media attention and can facilitate meetings among agency leaders to discuss spending.

“I think (Kennedy) did an outstanding job at elevating the position of treasurer to where it’s become extremely relevant to most citizens of this state,” Schroder said. “I think most people expect the treasurer to be that spokesman for them, to watch their back.”

Melinda Deslatte has covered Louisiana politics for The Associated Press since 2000. Follow her at http://twitter.com/melindadeslatte

FEEDING MINISTRY
At Lee Chapel AME Church invites senior citizens from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, July 19. For info call Ethel Morrison, 985-384-9680 or Ruby Maize, 985-385-2125.

ORIENTATION
At Morgan City Junior High School Thursday, July 20. Lockers assigned, $15 school fees collected, students and parents will meet teachers and learn of plans for coming year. School sweatshirts, T-shirts and yearbooks also sold. New students not coming from a Morgan City elementary school should register prior to the first day of school. Parents encouraged to attend. Times: 8 a.m., seventh- and eighth-grade students; and 10:30 a.m., sixth-grade students.

JULY/CHRISTMAS
Christmas in July for senior citizens hosted by Central North Louisiana Conference Women Mission Society in Morgan City at 2 p.m. Saturday, July 29, at St. Mary Senior Citizens Center, Chennault Street, Morgan City. Admission $5. For info call Ethel Morrison, 985-384-9680.