High schools Kaplan, North Vermilion & Erath get state report card grade of "A"

The state School Performance Scores (SPS) for high schools were released Thursday morning, and Vermilion Parish has a lot to smile about.
For the first time ever, three high schools in Vermilion Parish get the report card grade of "A."
The schools are Erath, North Vermilion and newcomer to the “A” Club is Kaplan High School.
For the first time ever, Kaplan has climbed 10 points and went from being a “B” school to a “A” school.
Kaplan Principal Dr. Janet Guirini was proud of the grade the school received. She gave her faculty, students and community all of the credit for the grade.
“I am very honored to be the principal of Kaplan High School, and very committed to the faculty, staff, students, and community of Kaplan.,” said Dr. Guirini. “The success of a school is built on a culture of positive learning experiences by all members of the school, including administrators, teachers, and students. Your administrators and teachers are the lead learners in a positive culture which directly impacts the learning experiences within a classroom. The teachers at KHS have vested in learning communities aimed toward collaborating with peers, sharing best practices, desegregating data, and aligning assessments to meet EOC and ACT standards. Critical to success, collectively, the teachers at KHS value all students and their potential for success.”
Erath High for the last five years has ranked in the top 3 in public schools rankings. Once again, Erath is right up there, ranked the No. 3 public school in the state with a score of 119, which was four points better than a year ago.
EHS Principal Mark Turner was proud of his staff, students and community for keeping Erath High on top.
“I couldn’t be more proud, enthusiastic and appreciative of the small community we raise our families in and for the EHS students that prove everyday that hard work and excellence are the keys to success!,” Turner said. “I am thankful to our EHS faculty that works hard to provide the atmosphere and material to our students to continue reaching for the stars. I would also like to thank the feeder schools including EMS, Dozier, LeBlanc Elem for diligently preparing students day in and day out for the message of how important academics is from pre-k forward.
“I am so proud of our students to be part of the celebration confirming that their hard work with hours of studying and preparation has once again led us to the elite of the learning communities,” he added.
North Vermilion Principal Tommy Byler has watched the school’s score climbed from a 92.9 two years ago to a 102.9 last year. Now, for the third year in a row, the score increased to 111.5.
“We are extremely excited to see that the hard work from the students, teachers, and administrators at both the school and district level are paying dividends in our school performance score,” Byler said. “After being a combination school, we were anxious to create a SPS that was based on the work of our high school students. We have been an A 7-12 combination school and knew that we had to make up for the strengths that our middle school provided in our SPS.
“The high school component of our SPS was 92.9 two years ago and 102.9 last year. So to score a 111.5 as a 9-12 high school is terrific. Taking the students who have started in our excellent feeder schools and trying to raise the bar each year is a challenge but it is one that we are excited to attack each and every year. “
Abbeville High School just missed being a “B” school by a half point. The school scored a 84.4 and a “B” school score is 85. Last year Abbeville was a “C” with a score of 82.
“I consider us a B school,” said AHS Principal Ivy Landry. “We showed in improvement in our score and we worked hard to get there.”
A report card letter grade was not released for high schools who have a combined middle school and high schools like Gueydan High School.