Five Lafayette Schools Recognized as ‘Comeback’ Schools by State

LAFAYETTE PARISH, La. (KPEL News) - Amid concerns of learning loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Louisiana Department of Education has recognized dozens of Louisiana schools that have fought back to overcome that loss.

Five of the schools are in Lafayette Parish and represent what LDOE is calling 2022's "Louisiana Comeback Campuses" - campuses that saw learning loss over the course of the pandemic but have brought their scores back up more quickly than others in their district and throughout the state.

What Is a "Comeback Campus"?

According to LDOE, Louisiana Comeback Campuses are "schools that are performing at higher levels in reading and math than before the pandemic." To qualify as a Comeback Campus, they had to have increased the "percentage of students scoring Mastery and above and decreased the percentage of students scoring unsatisfactory in both math and ELA on 2022 statewide assessments when compared to 2019."

High school Comeback Campuses also must show increases in students' ACT scores. There were 41 schools representing 29 school systems that earned the title of "Comeback Campus" this year.

The five Lafayette Parish schools named "Comeback Campuses" are:

• Broussard Middle School
• Early College Academy
• Edward J Sam Accelerated School of Lafayette
• Lafayette Middle School
• Myrtle Place Elementary School

Myrtle Place has been the recipient of several recognitions for its growth. It was recently named a National Blue Ribbon school, and its principal, Catherine Bricelj, has received national recognition for her leadership on campus.

Early College Academy is the highest-scoring school in the Lafayette Parish School System, picking up a 131.5 in school performance score. While that is a slight dip from 2019 when the school earned 131.9, the school's score in 2022 was in the top ten among schools in the state.

Broussard and Lafayette Middle Schools each showed growth from 2019 to 2022, overcoming many of the same challenges other schools faced during the pandemic.

“Louisiana’s students are coming back stronger, and this movement is being led by students, families, and educators,” said State Superintendent Dr. Cade Brumley. “I look forward to visiting these campuses to recognize their progress and learn how we can accelerate further growth for the children of this state.”