St. Martinville – St. Martin Parish school officials announced last week that St. Martinville Jr. High has been removed from the School Choice Option that has been in place for the past two years.

That means that children in grades 6 through 8 residing in the St. Martinville school zone will no longer have the option of attending either Catahoula Elementary or Parks Middle schools.

However, students who were enrolled in School Choice during the 2009-10 session may remain at their current school until they complete the 8th grade. But transportation will not be provided by the school system. Parents will have to provide transportation both to and from school. Students will not be allowed to ride a school bus.

Affected parents have been advised to contact Kara Meaux, Title I supervisor, at 332-2105 by Aug. 12 for further information.

St. Martinville Jr. High had been placed in the School Choice program just prior to the start of the 2008-09 session. Despite a satisfactory School Performance Score the school’s test results had run afoul of the complex regulations found in the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) guidelines. Two of the school’s “sub-groups” as defined by NCLB had failed to meet the program’s “annual measurable objectives.” The two sub-groups were identified as economically disadvantaged and African-American.

At the time, SMSH included grades 5 through 8 and had a projected enrollment of 567. Parents of 48 children eventually requested transfers.

That number increased to 64 for the 2009-10 school session.

Subsequent to the School Choice designation, parish officials instituted a number of programs to improve the school’s performance. The school board also approved the transfer of grade 5 from SMJH to St. Martinville Primary.

Parish officials say that a team effort put forth by the school’s faculty, the administration and central office staff, along with the support of students and parents, helped the school to meet its annual measurable objectives for the past two years.

Parents of students in the School Choice program were advised by letter in June of the likelihood that the program would be discontinued, and another set of letters were sent out last week to notify them of the official results.