Assumption Parish Schools Rated #5 in Louisiana for Growth of Literacy
State Leaders Praise District Practices For Improving Student Reading
(Literacy Award) -- Assumption Parish School Board President Honoray Lewis and Superintendent Dr. John Barthelemy receive a Louisiana Literacy Leader banner from state education leaders for the district’s outstanding growth performance on the DIBELS assessment
(Literacy Screener-Top Improving Districts) – Chart provided by the Louisiana Department of Education.
The Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) recently recognized Assumption Parish Schools for outstanding results on the DIBELS assessment that rated the district No. 5 overall in growth in early literacy.
DIBELS measures early literacy skills in students from kindergarten through 8th grade, focusing on key areas such as phonemic awareness, alphabetic principle, fluency, and comprehension.
“Your district’s commitment to early literacy and the effective use of high-quality instructional materials and evidence-based practices has made a measurable impact on student achievement. The progress reflected in your DIBELS outcomes is a testament to the hard work and leadership of your entire team—from school and district leaders to teachers and support staff,” said the Louisiana Department of Education’s Executive Director of Literacy Shanna Beber.
Superintendent Dr. John Barthelemy said the district’s literacy initiatives include training all teachers in the science of reading, providing individual academic support plans, implementing high-quality instructional material and tiered support, and administering literacy screening three times per year with parent reporting.
“Our educators are putting in the extra work and preparation to incorporate effective learning practices into all that they do in the classroom, and we are seeing that effort pay dividends for our students,” Dr. Barthelemy said.
Barthelemy noted that the DIBELS assessment showed positive results districtwide in reading skills among all K-3 students. The assessment showed an overall 25% improvement in reading skills among all kindergartners, a 14% improvement among all first graders, a 19% improvement among all second graders, and a 5% improvement among all third graders.
“Improving reading skills and reading comprehension skills of students at an early age is critical to ensuring our students will experience success throughout their educational careers,” Dr. Barthelemy said. “We must continue to do all we can to have our students learning at a high level from the very start.”
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“The progress reflected in your DIBELS outcomes is a testament to the hard work and leadership of your entire team—from school and district leaders to teachers and support staff,”
- LDOE Executive Director of Literacy Shanna Beber.
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Assumption Schools’ high rating in literacy growth comes on top of the state’s report that the district ranks #3 overall among K-8 students and high schoolers for the growth in the percentage of students scoring Mastery and Advanced on the state’s 2025 LEAP.
The LDOE released the LEAP 2025 scores on July 3, highlighting academic gains across the Assumption Parish School District.
Students in Grades 3-8 showed a 3-percentage point increase in the Mastery+ category across all subject areas. Similarly, students in Grades 9-12 improved by 2 percentage points in Mastery+. These notable gains have earned the Assumption Parish School District a spot in the state’s Top 10 for overall improvement, as recognized by LDOE.
LEAP 2025 is a criterion-reference test that is given to students in Grades 3-12. It assesses students’ mastery of learning standards in the subjects of English Language Arts (ELA), Mathematics, Science and Social Studies. High schoolers also take tests in Algebra I, Geometry, English I and II, Biology, Civics and U.S. history.