Lycee earns an ‘A’ from state; Sophie B. Wright rises to a B; College Prep stumbles

Letter-grade increases highlighted in blue; decreases in orange. (chart by UptownMessenger.com, source: Louisiana Department of Education)

Lycée Français de la Nouvelle-Orléans became the latest Uptown charter school to receive an ‘A’ rating from the state, and Sophie B. Wright rose to a ‘B,’ according to the latest School Performance Scores released late last week.

But three schools in the College Prep network all struggled this year — Cohen fell a grade level from a B to a C, Crocker saw its score fall, and Sylvanie Williams remained at a D.

‘A’ rated schools
Uptown New Orleans now has four A-rated schools:

• Lycee Francais earned its A-rating by jumping from a School Performance Score of 95 last year to 105 in this year’s report. School officials had been anticipating a jump, and cautiously predicted it at last week’s meeting of the school’s governing board.
• Lusher Charter School also showed significant growth within its A rating, rising from a 130 last year to 137 this year — only three points behind its traditional rival, Benjamin Franklin High School, for the highest score in the city.
• Audubon Charter School and the International School of Louisiana both held relatively steady in their rankings, at 112.2 and 106, respectively.

‘B’ rated schools
Likewise, five schools in Uptown now boast a B rating:

• Sophie B. Wright Institute of Academic Excellence is the newest member of the group, rising from last year’s 81 to an 87 this year.
• KIPP Central City Academy also posted an impressive eight-point gain, rising from an 85 last year to a 93 this year.
• The other Uptown schools to retain their ‘B’ scores are Benjamin Franklin Elementary Math and Science with a 95, New Orleans Charter Science and Mathematics High School with a 94, and Eleanor McMain Secondary School with an 89.

Setbacks for College Prep

For much of the year, the New Orleans College Prep charter network has been celebrating the meteoric improvement in scores at Cohen College Prep — only recently scoring lowest among schools in the city, but last year reaching a ‘B.’ The improvement even drew national attention, when U.S. Secretary of Education John King visited the school.

This year, however, Cohen fell back to a ‘C,’ its 88 falling to a 79. School officials largely expected the reduction — saying it had less to do with the students’ test scores themselves, and more with a scoring measure known as the “graduation cohort,” which tracks the progress of even those students no longer at the school. Likewise, they expect that number to rise again significantly.

More significantly, however, Sylvanie Williams remained a ‘D’ school, barely improving last year’s 52 to a 54 this year. If the school does not post major improvements, its charter could be at risk soon, school officials have said.

Finally, Crocker College Prep also received a ‘D’ grade of 58 — down from last year’s transitional grade of 69, which likely would have been a C.

Mixed results
Only one other school around Uptown improved by a letter grade on this year’s results: James M. Singleton Charter School, which saw its score leap from last year’s 47, a low D, to this year’s 69, a C.

Three other schools lost a letter grade: Lafayette Academy fell from a B to a C, as did ReNEW SciTech Academy at Laurel. Edgar P. Harney Spirit of Excellence Academy fell from a C to a D.

Four schools grew significantly while retaining their C ratings: KIPP Believe College Prep, KIPP Central City Primary, Mahalia Jackson Elementary School and Samuel J. Green Charter School. ReNEW Cultural Arts Academy at Live Oak Elementary also maintained a C without much change from last year.

Finally, Wilson Charter School posted its first School Performance Score under new management, scoring 68.9, right at the threshold between a C and a D.