Zachary Elementary Teachers Present at International Conference

At the recent Southeast Regional Conference for the International Reading Association, two Zachary Elementary Teachers were selected to present. Angela Cassard and Brandie McNabb present ‘The Reading Teacher’s Toolbox.’ The teachers shared information that they use in their classrooms and that teachers in attendance could easily use in their own classroom with little or no preparation. During the session, there were over 150 people in attendance. Teachers actively listened, participated, and even took pictures to document ideas.

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.