Ouachita Business Alliance commends MCSB on Vidrine

A clear majority of the Monroe City School Board recently voted 6-1 to renew District Superintendent Brent Vidrine’s contract. We commend the board for coming to an agreement about Dr. Vidrine’s future status with our district.

A key tenant of the Ouachita Business Alliance’s platform for improvement centers around improving Education in our parish. We hope that this vote of unity will mark a new era of positive actions that will further enhance the learning environment in which our children learn and our teachers teach.

Word of this contract renewal has been eagerly anticipated by many — students, parents, teachers, administrators, the business community, and the community at large. Each of these groups has a stake in the future of education in the District, but none more so than the students themselves.

Dr. Vidrine is certainly worthy of this renewal. His record while serving as superintendent speaks for itself. In a number of key areas, the students have demonstrated improvement as teachers and administrators have benefited from much-needed support. Clearly the public’s passage of a $58.8 million dollar bond to fund district-wide improvements was an excellent investment in public education.

Cypress Point University Elementary principal Ann Cook was just named the 2017 Louisiana Elementary Principal of the Year — another notable indication of how much progress is being made.

Our community is at an important crossroads when it comes to taking a stand for quality education. It is time we get past the negative and focus on the really good education accomplishments that often are overshadowed by the actions of a few. The accomplishments made during Superintendent Vidrine’s tenure are many and worth noting. We will highlight just a few.

This past year, students in the district achieved an average ACT score of 19.7 — a score that is above the Louisiana state average, is the highest ever achieved by the district, and is on par with parish ACT scores. In addition, the Monroe City School District has moved from a District rating of “D” to “C” for the first time. Carroll High School increased its standardized placement scores to 54.4 this year. That removed it from the “F” designation up to a “D.” This 15-point improvement has occurred over the past two years.

Communications has improved throughout the system. “Teacher leaders” were established in all of the district’s elementary and junior high schools. As part of that program, a new curriculum has been adopted that aligns with ongoing student assessments, and the curriculum in all of the schools has been aligned, a major step toward making certain that all students were being taught the same material. These “teacher leaders” are meeting each month to discuss progress and adjust the curriculum as necessary. Additionally, monthly meetings are now taking place with counselors at the junior and senior high schools to make certain that all were using the same standards.

The system has instituted progress monitoring at each nine-week period to measure both student growth and teacher effectiveness. Dr. Vidrine meets with principals and their administrations to review data and to assess needs based on individual students’ scores.

Other accomplishments worth mentioning include a renewed focus on workforce development involving student technology proficiency by utilizing a one-to-one computer/student ratio at Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School, free access to Microsoft office programs for all students in the district, and the Math/Science Summer Enrichment Partnership for grades 5-8. To help students not planning to attend college following graduation, Vidrine has overseen the addition of the JumpStart program into all three high schools, a program that has courses in welding, small engines, customer service, and construction, just to name a few.

Parents will appreciate the implementation of programs designed to help students complete their applications for financial aid and college enrollment that includes personnel at each of the high schools to guide the students and their families through the process.

We should be proud of these accomplishments, focus on them in our conversations, and look for opportunities to support our schools whenever we can. The Monroe City School System, under Dr. Vidrine’s leadership, has taken significant steps toward the standards of excellence to which we all aspire.

George Cummings and John Jones are founding members of the Ouachita Business Alliance.