Allen Parish Schools Show Progress
Students in Allen Parish are making strides in their academic journey. The district recently scored a 'B' on their LEAP test, a result that Superintendent Brad Soileau sees as a positive step forward. He notes that while there's still room for improvement, the district is on the right track. The new accountability model in Louisiana brings in fresh testing methods and performance metrics, and Allen Parish is adapting well.
One area where the district truly shines is in Early Childhood Education, ranking third in the state. This achievement highlights the district's focus on preparing young students for kindergarten. When it comes to academic growth, Allen Parish performed admirably under the state's new Growth accountability component. This measures whether students are meeting their yearly growth goals.
Breaking down the districtwide growth, English Language Arts saw a 2.9 percent increase, while Math grew by 3.6 percent. For students who were previously struggling, the district saw a 10.2 percent increase in English Language Arts growth. However, Math growth dipped slightly by 1.9 percent for these students.
The district also looked at how students performed under the Achieve component, which checks the percentage of students doing well at the Mastery level or higher. Here, Allen Parish did slightly better than the state average. Subject-wise, English Language Arts saw a small drop of 0.6 percent, but Math, Science, and Social Studies all showed improvements of 1.6 percent, 1.5 percent, and 1.1 percent respectively.
Literacy rates for students in kindergarten through third grade were also updated. While the overall percentage of students reading on grade level dropped slightly to 70.7 percent, several schools showed significant gains. Elizabeth High School, Fairview High School, and Reeves High School all reported increases in students reading on grade level.
Looking ahead, changes are coming to Louisiana's high school accountability system. Starting with the 2026-27 freshman class, students will take comprehensive exams in Math and English Language Arts at the end of their sophomore year. Biology and Civics assessments will also continue. The district is excited about these changes and is preparing students for success.
One school that stood out is Kinder High School, recognized by the Louisiana Department of Education as a Top Growth School. They achieved Mastery+ growth across all content areas, a remarkable accomplishment. This shows that with hard work and dedication, schools can make a real difference in students' lives.
