Part 3: 9 NELA schools part of scholarship program

Editor's note: This is the third installment of a three-part analysis series.

Justin McWilliams is in his third year at St. Frederick Catholic High School. The junior, impeccably dressed and ever polite, said he feels "blessed." He's among a handful  of students attending the private school as part of the Louisiana Scholarship Program, also known as the state voucher program.

McWilliams, who previously attended Lee Junior High School, cited St. Fred's college prep work as a primary benefit to attending the school.

"There's a lot of opportunity when it comes to things like dual enrollment," he said. "You can get college credit early, be able to go to college as a sophomore, be able to graduate a little bit earlier. The teachers are great. They really give you the experience of what it's like to be in college when you're in high school. They treat you as if you are a college student. The expectations are higher than most schools. The curriculum is excellent. The classes are great. I couldn't ask for more."

Private schools are often seen as an improvement over public schools, particularly failing public schools, but the pass rates of LSP students on state standardized tests does not support that view.

In northeastern Louisiana, 83 public schools are ranked C, D or F by the LDOE in 12 parishes and 13 school districts. There are 30 "C" schools, 36 "D" schools and 17 "F" schools. Twenty-eight eligible public schools come from the two largest districts — 15 are in Monroe City and 13 are in Ouachita Parish.

Nine private schools in four parishes participate in the Louisiana Scholarship Program. The voucher program lets students from troubled public schools attend the private schools with state finances. Four of the LSP-eligible schools are in Monroe.

The LSP-approved schools in the area are:

• Claiborne Christian School, West Monroe;
• Northeast Baptist School, West Monroe;
• Family Community Christian School, Winnsboro;
• Old Bethel Christian Academy, Clarks;
• Our Lady of Fatima School, Monroe;
• Prevailing Faith Christian Academy, Monroe;
• Quest School, Monroe;
• St. Frederick High School, Monroe;
• Union Christian Academy, Farmerville.

Students who are part of the Louisiana Scholarship Program are expected to take the same state standardized tests as their public school counterparts.

For the 2014-15 school year, the LDOE gave each school overall performance rates based on the overall percentage of students who achieved either Basic and above on third- through eighth-grade LEAP/iLEAP exams or good and excellent on end of course exams.

Local schools' scores were rated:

• Family Community Christian School: 54.40 percent;
• Old Bethel Christian Academy: 50.80 percent;
• Our Lady of Fatima School: 44.30 percent;
• Prevailing Faith Christian Academy: 53.20 percent;
• St. Frederick High School: 54.50 percent;
• Union Christian Academy: 30.20 percent.

Claiborne Christian School, Northeast Baptist School and Quest School had fewer than 10 students and were not rated.

Part 1: Bills could alter voucher program

The Department of Education also gives scores to private schools with an average of 10 LSP students enrolled per grade or 40 enrolled on testing grades based on those students scores on standardized tests. The Scholarship Cohort Index is substantially similar to public school performance scores, as outlined in Board of Elementary and Secondary Education Bulletin 111. Schools that do not fall on the SCI also receive the percentage of different achievement levels, but that score is not released to the public.

If a school receives Scholarship Cohort Index below 50 in the second year of participation or in any year thereafter, it cannot enroll additional scholarship recipients for the next school year. Students attending a school that receives a score below 50 have priority admission to attend another LSP school the next year.

Two schools in northeastern Louisiana get an SCI. Family Community Christian School received a 59.5 for 2015. Our Lady of Fatima scored a 41.9.

As a result, the LDOE sanctioned Our Lady of Fatima, prohibiting the school from enrolling new scholarship students for the 2016-17 school year,  LDOE Media Information Director Ken Pastorick said.

In a news release, Carol Shively, the diocesan superintendent of schools, said she sees no cause for concern.

"Of the 22 students who were tested in 2014-15, 10 of those students were able to benefit from Fatima's program for only six months after coming from failing schools," she said. "Our Lady of Fatima School students have historically excelled academically, and we have a proven record for success in helping at-risk students who arrive to us from underperforming schools. I remain confident in our academic curriculum and the excellent staff we have at the school."

Our Lady of Fatima principal Carynn Wiggins said the school's low student-to-teacher ratio "allows us to truly concentrate on meeting the educational needs of our students. We know what is required for our students to excel, and last year's test results will allow our school to further enhance our academic resources that offer students and parents the opportunity for continued academic success."

Fatima was one of three schools, including Quest School and Claiborne Christian School, who scrambled to take on students from Prevailing Faith Christian Academy after school administrators closed it in late September.

The LDOE removed Prevailing Faith from the scholarship program in the 2015-16 school year for financial reasons. Scholarship students made up about 80 percent of the school's income, so school administrators subsequently shuttered the school within the same week. The school administrators filed a petition for judicial review in November, and the LDOE has reinstated the school into the scholarship program for the 2016-17 school year.

LSP schools tend to attract students who have both a desire to excel and families willing to advocate for them via the application process.

"If their parents care enough to want to send them here to St. Fred's, that means they value education and they understand that we have some high expectations at school and they expect that of their children," principal Bob Webber said.

Webber said St. Frederick serves 300 students in seventh through 12th grades, 15 of whom are part of the LSP.

"All 15 students are doing really well, we're really pleased with them," he said. "They know that the expectations are high at St. Frederick High School, and they're very high achievers."

Students feed into St. Fred's from Our Lady of Fatima and Jesus the Good Shepherd, Webber said. Fatima participates in LSP, but Jesus the Good Shepherd does not. He said school administrators don't know whether the additional five LSP students they'll take on in the fall will be from Fatima because it's determined by lottery.

Webber said the school's board decided to take on an additional five LSP students next year, and they'll come in the seventh-grade class. The program pays the school's tuition, approximately $6,700 a year.

Analysis: How well does scholarship program serve students?

Scott Richard, executive director of the Louisiana School Boards Association, said funding for the LSP comes from the Legislature's general fund.

The Legislative Fiscal Office report states LDOE reimbursement for LSP "tuition shall not exceed the combined state and local per pupil amount of the district in which the student resides."

The report notes "the state pays the combined state and local share, which actually represents an increased cost for the state. Local school districts do not see a reduction in revenue collections even though that student is not enrolled in local schools."

Monroe City Schools Superintendent Brent Vidrine said local funds come from constituents who set specific parameters on how those funds can be used when they pass a tax. Scholarship schools get the MFP funds that public school districts normally would get, so the MFP funds are used elsewhere.

If a student moves from a private school to a public school after the Oct. 1 or Feb. 1 counts used to distribute the MFP, Vidrine said, the private school gets the funds and the public school the student moves to has to educate the child with no financial assistance.

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