DANIEL TYLER GOODEN / L’Observateur / February 2, 2000

ROMEVILLE – Romeville Elementary is off and running with a long list of accomplishments trailing behind. Most of the schools in St. James Parish areworking to make their students better learners, and Romeville is one of them.

Earlier this month the faculty gathered for its spring Alliance for Reform meeting. Principal Geneva Landry had good news to share. After a fall term of refocusing their education system, Landry submitted a long list of goals set forth from the beginning of the school year that have been successfully met.

“We aren’t focusing much on special functions, like (the annual 4-H) Safety Week, in order to focus” on preparing the students for graduation to their next grades, said Landry.

Among the list of improvements to the school are the use of weekly and six- weeks tests in the format of the LEAP and ITBS tests. The school nowoffers tutoring from 3-4 p.m. every Tuesday and Thursday.The school has hired Bette Laird as a consultant to the refocusing project.

Also brought on board was new Assistant Principal Lionel Trench, who has been involved with handling disciplinary needs of the school. Landry has beenpleased with his effort and said discipline has improved.

The annual LEAP and ITBS test results have been analyzed and released to the parents. New math, social studies and science books have beenpurchased.

Computers are present in every classroom, except for pre-K and kindergarten, which have their own computer labs, said Landry.

New lesson plans have been drawn up by Landry to address the benchmark core curriculum studies. Each grade has had a lesson plan tailor made fortheir class. The plans are used in conjunction with a new calendar andtimeline for the school year.

In an attempt to improve communication between the parents and the teachers, Landry has held three evening meetings in January. The meetings,which will continue through the spring, give the teachers and herself a chance to outline and explain what is going on in the school and the classrooms.

“We’ve gone over the test results and given the parents the test and the benchmarks we’re studying,” said Landry.

As a result of these goals, and quite a few more, the students’ behavior has improved and they’ve become more motivated.

With more than 20 state certified teachers working collectively, Romeville has greatly improved its program since the beginning of the school year is working diligently to keep up the pace.

Return To News Stories