Ascension school administrators had known for years that the rural locale, high poverty rate, the Mississippi River and other factors made it tough to recruit and retain certified teachers and other staff for Donaldsonville-area public schools.
As a result, the west bank schools significantly lagged behind their east bank peers in their share of certified teachers and paraprofessionals.
Two years ago, in a bid to boost those numbers and, by extension, student performance, school officials adopted an incentive program to offer up to an extra $10,000 per year for teachers and other staff to head across the river in Ascension.
Apparently, money talks.
New data from the school system show the share of certified teachers in Donaldsonville schools has risen from 18% in the 2021-22 year before the program took effect to 68% this school year.
In what the system's top human resources officials called a "tremendous jump," the rise nearly quadrupled the share of certified staff in Donaldsonville schools in two years.
The west bank schools' share of certified teachers still lags east bank schools where the share approaches and even well exceeds 90%, but school officials said the sharp shift in numbers over two years shows the incentive program is having an effect in attracting teachers.
"The greatest impact on student academic achievement in a school system is having a high-quality, certified teacher in the classroom," Superintendent Edith Walker said in a statement Wednesday.
The incentive pay program affects four schools with about 1,340 students combined: Donaldsonville Primary, Lowery Elementary, Lowery Middle and Donaldsonville High.
In raw totals, the shift has boosted the number of certified teachers and paraprofessionals from 25 out of 138 in 2021-22 to 86 out of 126 this school year, according to a school system report.
During a pitch to fund the program for another year, administrators recently told School Board members that the incentive dollars have drawn teachers and paraprofessionals from other school districts and from east bank Ascension schools.
The incentives have also encouraged existing west bank teachers to finish their certifications.
"In the past two months, we've had five teachers become certified," Jeremy Muse, the system's human resources director, said Tuesday night.
Muse said those newly certified teachers received a share of the annual stipend this year prorated to the day the state issues the certification.
Muse added the incentives have really played a role "in not just attracting but even retaining and encouraging people" to remain in west bank schools, as fewer teachers have sought transfers to east bank schools.
Due to Ascension's large industrial base and growing population, the parish's public schools have one of the best locally funded districts in the Ïã¸ÛÁùºÍ¿ª½±ÀúÊ·¼Ç¼ area, and the "A"-rated school system is the highest-rated large school district in the state.
But the western portion of Ascension Parish missed the growth boom seen on the east side over the past several decades. In fact, it is losing population and has a poverty rate approaching 50%.
The west bank schools have seen declining enrollments and struggled to keep up with most east bank schools' high-flying scores, despite years of intervention efforts and some rating improvements.
Current state performance scores for Ascension schools reflect only one year of the incentive program being in effect, through the 2022-23 year.
Between 2021-22 and 2022-23, the scores for the primary and middle schools on the west bank rose, though they remain low for the top-rated Ascension system.
Donaldsonville Primary and Lowery Elementary have risen from "D" to "C" schools, while Lowery Middle saw its overall score improve but not enough to keep it from continuing to be rated a "D" school.
Donaldsonville High, a "C"-rated school, saw its score slip some in the first year of the program but not enough to change its overall performance letter grade.
Since the program started, the school system has set aside $1.6 million annually to fund the incentives. Core teachers earn the full $10,000 annual stipend, elective teachers earn $2,500 and paraprofessionals get $1,250.
Once certified, teachers must also remain rated as "highly effective" or "effective proficient" to continue receiving the stipend.
School officials told board members only one teacher has failed to maintain one of those teacher performance ratings.
After hearing the new certification data on Tuesday night, a School Board panel agreed to recommend funding the incentive program for next school year for another $1.6 million.
The full board must still weigh in.
"It is my belief that prioritizing students warrants every penny invested by the Ascension Parish School Board, and ultimately, the dividends reaped from such investments in education will resonate far beyond mere monetary value," Superintendent Walker said.
