LIVINGSTON PARISH SCHOOLS GAIN ACROSS THE BOARD
Thirty of Livingston Parish’s 43 schools that received performance grades in the Louisiana Department of Education’s 2019 report showed academic improvement as compared to last year.
In particular, the district improved its number of “A” schools by three, up from 10 to 13, while the district’s overall performance score improved 2.2 points, growing from 86.3 points to 88.5 points.
The parish had 28 schools earning Top Gains, which is a designation for academic progress at an “A” level, and 11 Equity Honorees, which recognizes schools in the top 10 percent of schools in Louisiana among targeted subgroups, such as special needs students, English learners and economically disadvantaged students.
Other significant gains were reported in the following indices: K-8 assessment index, up 2.9 points; K-8 progress index, up 4.5 points; high school progress index, up 0.4 points; ACT index, up 1.2 points; Strength of Diploma, up 3.8 points; and Graduation Cohort Index, up 0.9 points.
HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS ENCOURAGED TO CONSIDER AUTOMOTIVE CAREER OPPORTUNITIES
Nearly 20 female high school students from across Livingston Parish recently participated in an automotive industry learning session. The girls were presented with an assortment of pink accessories for the occasion, including reflective vests, headbands and protective eye wear. The district hopes the session and additional promotions will generate enough student interest to offer a “girls-only” automotive class in the summer or next school year.
Female student ambassadors and high school counselors from each of the nine high schools in Livingston Parish were recently invited to attend an information session at the parish’s automotive learning center to learn how the automotive industry may offer them promising employment opportunities after graduation.
The girls and counselors heard from local professionals and academic leaders who shared their desire to enroll and hire more women in automotive certification programs. Those speakers included the automotive program directors from Baton Rouge Community College and Northshore Technical Community College, representatives from O’Reilly’s Auto Parts and Neighbor’s Credit Union in Walker, and Eric Lane, CEO of Gerry Lane Enterprises in Baton Rouge.
“Our goal is to better educate and create greater awareness of career opportunities that women have in those career fields that are now male-dominated. There is now a high demand for women in many of these fields; but for many girls, these opportunities are not even on their radars,” Career Technical Education Coordinator Staci Polozola said.
RIBBON CUTTING HELD FOR NEW SPECIAL NEEDS FACILITY IN WALKER
Those participating in the ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Ferrington Place included: (left to right) LPPS Transition Coordinator April Morgan; LPPS Special Education Department Director Eric Penalber; City of Walker Mayor Jimmy Watson; family member Gail Fitzpatrick; LPPS Assistant Superintendent Jody Purvis; family members Cindy Sibley, Chuck Smith, Ed Ferrington, Dottie Marler, and Betty Ferrington; LPPS Assistant Superintendent Stephen Parrill; family members Kaytlin Taylor and Tracy Cunningham; Walker Councilman Tracy Girlinghouse; family member Tommy Williams; Walker Freshman High School Principal David Clark; and Walker High School Principal Jason St. Pierre.
Students with special needs who attend school in the Walker School District can now utilize a life skills facility in their home community that is designed to teach them how to perform day-to-day activities in a home setting.
The City of Walker, Livingston Parish school leaders and members of the Ferrington Family of Walker held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Nov. 7 for the new Ferrington Place, which is located at 10266 Florida Boulevard, just east of Walker.
The newly renovated home is equipped with a kitchen, bathroom, living room, bedroom and laundry room, enabling instructors to teach students how to perform daily activities in each of these settings in hopes of enabling them to live a safe, more independent lifestyle in their own private homes or in a group home setting. A large den located in the rear of the house is equipped with tables and chairs to accommodate larger gatherings.
“Ferrington Place is a tremendous resource for the special needs residents in the Walker community. Not only does this facility lessen the hassle of traveling outside of the area to access a life skills facility, it also creates opportunities for more programs and more activities for the local special needs community,” said Eric Penalber, Ph.D., director of Livingston Parish Public Schools Special Education Department.
PUBLIC RELATIONS CONSULTANT WINS TOP AWARDS
Superintendent Joe Murphy and Delia A. Taylor, APR, show the two awards that Taylor recently received from the Southern Public Relations Federation.
Delia A. Taylor, APR, recently received two top awards from the Southern Public Relations Federation’s Lantern Awards program for her work for the Livingston Parish School System. The SPRF Lantern Awards program recognizes outstanding work in the field of public relations in the four-state region of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.
Taylor earned the Lantern Award in Media Relations for her management of the story of a fiery bus accident in September 2018 and the teacher-firefighter who responded to the incident. She also earned an Award of Excellence in Media Relations for the promotion of the “Stronger Than Ever” campaign kickoff, which was marked by the staged demolition event at Denham Springs Elementary, held in August 2018.
Taylor is only one of four PR practitioners from Louisiana to earn a top Lantern Award in this year’s competition.
STUDENTS PLEDGE TO BE SOCIAL MEDIA AMBASSADORS FOR LOPA
Thirty-seven students enrolled in classes at the Livingston Parish Literacy & Technology Center have pledged to serve as social media ambassadors this school year for the Louisiana Organ Procurement Agency (LOPA). LOPA is a nonprofit organ and tissue recovery agency responsible for servicing the state of Louisiana.
As ambassadors, the students will post on their personal social media channels facts about organ, tissue and eye donations, relevant news stories, and stories from those impacted by donations and LOPA-related activities across the state. LOPA has also partnered with iHeartMedia and public relations students in the LSU Manship School of Mass Communication to increase awareness about services.