Lafayette Parish School Superintendent Outlines Goals

The new superintendent of Lafayette Parish Public Schools, Dr. Donald Aguillard, has set out his plan for helping the parish to get to an "A" status in the next three years.

On Monday, Aguillard met with school principals to talk about his plan.  He is encouraging all of them to "raise their schools' performance scores three points per year for three years."

Aguillard says they will meet their goals by focusing "primarily on literacy and data-driven decision making, using research-based strategies, many of which he employed in raising performance in St. Mary Parish Schools during his tenure there."

The superintendent says he wants to see evidence that students are learning.  He says it's about "devoting at least 40% of their time to visiting classrooms and directly supporting teachers through dialogue and feedback, and conducting periodic curriculum alignment reviews. Other strategies include a comprehensive review of curriculum materials at the district level, an initiative to help juniors and seniors who are not on track to graduate catch up through a summer credit recovery initiative, and ensuring that the district’s assessment tools are aligned and truly predictive of student performance on high stakes tests."

Aguillard adds that the school system has the necessary resources to make the "A" status become a reality.

Dr. Aguillard also had high praise for the school board.  He says they are "clearly demonstrating that the needs of the students in the parish are their top priority."