Zachary Community Schools Not to Participate in Race to the Top

After much consideration and research into the State of Louisiana's application for the federally-funded "Race to the Top" competitive grant program, Zachary Community Schools officials have decided not to participate in the program.
“We respect and value the input of all of our stakeholders, therefore, we conducted extensive research to ensure that our decision was the right one for our school district,” said Superintendent Drake.
Some of the reasons for the decision include:
• too many unknown factors and unwritten regulations of the program
• concern over implementation of a new teacher evaluation system that uses student performance for 50% of the evaluation score
• the creation of a year-round benchmark testing system that would substantially increase the amount of formalized testing for many of our students
• identifying funding program initiatives after the 4 year program concludes
• receiving many negative comments and concerns on the district-wide teacher survey
“The bottom line is that the Zachary Community School District will continue to work hard and smart to provide the best education possible for our students through our employees," Drake said.