BATON ROUGE, La. - The Louisiana Department of Education released a comprehensive online reporting system detailing how well child care centers and schools statewide are preparing students, birth through grade 12, for the next grade level and beyond. The interactive system, called the Louisiana School Finder, details the first-ever early childhood performance profiles and the annual school performance scores, among other information valuable to families. It is the first of its kind in the nation.
"It is a great step forward for our state to report on the good work going on in early childhood centers alongside their counterparts in K-12 systems," said State Superintendent John White. "This effort supports the most fundamental purpose of the state's rating system: to use the power of information to focus all involved on student learning. We encourage families, educators, business and community leaders, and partners to continue to engage in this new system and to inform its evolution. Our collective dialogue about education is grounded in a shared understanding of both successes of the past and challenges ahead."
LOUISIANA SCHOOL FINDER
The early childhood performance profiles and the K-12 school performance scores are reported this year through the new Louisiana School Finder, an interactive, comprehensive online reporting system. The Louisiana School Finder, unveiled today after more than a year of public discussion and planning, provides families with:
school performance scores and early childhood performance ratings to show how well schools and centers are preparing students for the next grade-level;
basic information about schools and centers such as their address, website, hours of operation, and principal or director's name; and
listings of course offerings, clubs, enrichment and extracurricular activities.
"The Louisiana School Finder will be a valuable tool available to parents, community members and those looking to locate information and data on success indicators on all schools," said Sonny Savoie, President of the Louisiana PTA. "This information will enable parents to make informed choices relative to the schools that will provide their children with the greatest opportunity for a successful education."