The Allen Parish School Board has unveiled a new strategic plan that sets out to provide a high-quality and well-rounded education for students to promote individual success.

“The key to this is so you do not focus on too many things because there are always a lot of things to fix,” Superintendent Brad Solieau said in presenting the plan to the board this week. “This is

The plan outlines priorities and goals for schools and educators to reach by 2026 with the intent to help the district stay focused and show growth.

“This is what we are going to base what we do for the next two years in Allen Parish, along with the accountability changes and the new testing requirements, including shorter tests in grades 3-8,” Solieau said. “I’m very anxious and curious to see where all this takes us, but we are going to stay on board.”

The core values of the plan focuses on accountability, professionalism, stewardship and balance, Soileau said.

“When considering the future for Allen Parish School District, it is essential that a sharp focus on continued growth for our district through providing quality education is at the forefront of every decision that is to be made,” Solieau said, citing the vision for the district.

This focus must begin for our students prior to their entering our schools and continue throughout their educational experience, he said.

Though there are many opportunities to become distracted by the numerous responsibilities within a district, Soileau said it is essential that decisions are always grounded in the best interest of the students and focus never strays from educating the individual students and their success to provide a strong foundation for a rewarding future.

“There is a lot more to school than just going to class,” Soileau said. “A well-rounded student, whether that’s academics, sports, or clubs…all the things to make a well-rounded student. I can show you many students who were successful because of a teacher, coach or a person who influenced them.”

With individual success, Soileau noted that not all students are going to college. Many are entering directly into the workforce, he said.

The plan also aims to bolster the learning environment, improve test scores and attract effective staff to meet specific goals, Soileau said.

Under the plan, the district plans to work to provide all students with the highest quality teaching and learning environment to prepare them for their individual pathway to success. The plan also calls for teachers to provide high-quality, standards-based instruction supported by leaders through professional development.

Among the other goals, the district hopes to attract, develop and retain effective staff at all parish schools. It also wants to strengthen connections with families and local communities to build and maintain positive relationships through partnerships and effective communications.

The plan also set target goals to achieve student success including having 65 percent or more of students will be proficient on the LEAP 2025 in English/Language Arts, math, science and social studies.

“I think when you look at our past data that is a reasonable goal,” Soileau said.

The plan also strives to achieve 100 percent of students with exceptional abilities to improve overall performance on LEAP 2025/LEAP Connect in English/Language Arts, math, science and social studies.

Additionally, the plan sets out to attain 90 percent or more of the students that have attended pre-kindergarten will enter kindergarten ready.

“Our students are going into pre-k kindergarten ready and this is a high goal because we do such a great job to continue that,” he said. “I don’t know if I will see it in my time, I hope to, but the work we are doing in literacy and pre-k right now, we are going to see that benefit in the years to come when these students are in high school.”

Other specific goals to be reached by 2026 include:

– 13.6 percent or more of high school students will earn a Statewide Advanced Credential which leads to growth in test scores and future employment.

– Parishwide ACT composite scores will meet or exceed 20

– 80 percent or more of kindergarten-third grade students will be benchmark or above on DIBELS.

– 80 percent or more of students in grades kindergarten through eighth grade will meet individualized growth goals on literacy benchmarks through explicit literacy instruction.

In improving curriculum and instruction, the plan calls for 100 percent of teachers to implement benchmark assessments and utilize the data to engage in data-driven decision making. It also provides that 100 percent of teachers will intentionally plan daily instruction using specific curriculum or approved district curriculum and standards.

In attracting, developing and retaining effective staff, the plan provides that 53 percent or more of non-certified teachers will meet the terms of the Allen Parish certification agreement while 70 percent or more Career and Technical Education (CTE) teachers will achieve a statewide advanced credential.

Teacher retention rate will be 90 percent or above with 38 percent or more of the teachers being highly effective.

To achieve goals in connecting with families and communities, the plan seeks to have 80 percent of parents or guardians attend student conferences. It also seeks to have 90 percent or more of the students receive a community service academic endorsement upon graduation.

“We want our students to receive this endorsement on their diploma saying they worked community service hours,” Solieau said. “It looks great for scholarships, colleges and universities and they actually have to do something to get this.”

All CTE teachers will also complete monthly industry interaction in their content area and all schools will host 11 monthly community interactive events for students including open houses or math nights.