St. Martin Parish Schools has been awarded a Magnet Schools Assistance Program (MSAP) grant from the US Department of Education.
The grant, which will be split up over several years, will fund the district's magnet program. It's the same grant that the Lafayette School System won years ago, which helped launch the LPSS Schools of Choice program. That program led to LPSS getting unitary status, or release from court oversight of their desegregation program.
The St. Martin program is called PROSPER (Providing STEAM integration, Rigor, and new Opportunities for Students to Promote Equitable, Real-world pathways), "a program designed to improve the academic achievement and attainment of students attending two high-need schools while incorporating strategies to promote desegregation in alignment with the district’s court-ordered desegregation plan," a release states.
St. Martin Parish Schools received $2,969,569 to launch and implement Year 1 of PROSPER and is expected to receive nearly $2.6 million for each of the following four years, totaling $13,399,830 over five years.
PROSPER will establish a magnet school pipeline serving approximately 761 students who attend St. Martin Parish’s Early Learning Center (Grades K-1) and St. Martinville Primary (Grades 2-5), transforming the schools through enhanced teacher professional development; redesigning school spaces to make them more welcoming and conducive to learning; and improving disciplinary practices to incorporate social and emotional learning approaches.
Planned activities at the district level include implementation of a recruitment and selection system to improve socioeconomic integration and lower minority group isolation; design and implementation of educationally challenging and diverse learning environments; and planning for long-term sustainability of the magnet program.
Along with establishing a magnet pipeline at two schools, PROSPER is expected to result in improved student academic performance; reduced minority group isolation; increased educator diversity; and improvements in educators’ multi-cultural teaching skills, school cultures that promote equity and diversity, and students and families who are more engaged with their schools.
“Through this grant, St. Martin Parish hopes to create unique learning experiences, which foster student engagement and a motivation to learn. By establishing a supportive learning environment, which promotes diversity and cultural exchange, students will be better prepared for higher education and career opportunities,” said Superintendent Frederick Wiltz.
"St. Martin Parish Schools is pleased to collaborate with key partners that include the St. Martinville Mayor’s Office, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, LaSTEM, UC Davis CSTEM Center, Barobo, Acadiana Center for the Arts, A5 Academy of the Arts, Autism Society Acadiana, Louisiana A+ Schools, and Life is Tech to launch, implement, and support the PROSPER MSAP program," the release states.
