Posts Tagged ‘doe’

The Louisiana Department of Education announced today that Sherwood Middle School in Baton Rouge is one of the six schools in Louisiana to earn Blue Ribbon status. The US Department of Education bestows this honor based on academic improvement based on test scores for schools. The schools represented almost 2% of the 314 schools recognized across the nation.

You can read the full press release here →

Earlier this year, Dana Morrison of Sherwood Middle was one of the finalist for the LA Department of Education Teacher of the Year Award.

The Louisiana Department of Education issued a press release today about graduation rates in our state. They report increases in several categories and other accolades given to the state by magazines and other associations. We received an overall grade of C and are first in using technology to augment education.

Louisiana’s overall graduation is around 61%. The national average is about 70% and about 100 Louisiana students drop out of school a day and we’re still ranked 44th overall in education.

It seems that the only place the state is doing well is graduating Hispanics and African-Americans. All statistics for those communities are either equal to or exceed national averages.

It’s always good to see our state improving, but I hope it’s clear to everyone that we still to have a long, long way to go.

A few weeks ago the Louisiana Department of Education released the regional results of their annual Teacher of the Year award. Teachers compete at their education level and region and the finalists advance to the final round to be selected for the overall Teacher of the Year in each education level. Winners are awarded a one-year lease for a Mercedes Benz courtesy of Mercedes Benz of Baton Rouge as well as other cash and donated prized.

Teachers are selected based on criteria including teaching skills and dedication, plans to continue in the profession, respect of students, parents and colleagues, community and school leadership, affiliations with educational organizations, and possession of a superior talent to inspire students of all backgrounds and levels of abilities. Eight finalists represent each of the three school levels — elementary, middle and high school.

Baton Rouge had two finalists: Kimberlyn Denson from Tara High School and Dana D. Morrison from Sherwood Middle Academic Magnet School.

Congratulations, teachers, and good luck in the next round!

You can read more about the competition as well as other winners at the DOE web site.