The Lake Forest Elementary Charter School Board announced higher than expected LEAP and iLEAP scores at its June 19 board meeting, held immediately after its budget meeting.

Principal Mardele Early pointed board members to the pages of detailed analysis in their packets, highlighting several exemplary scores.

“That is unprecedented.  You don’t hear of that many perfect scores anywhere,” said board member Leila Eames.

With more than half of its third through eighth grade students achieving “Advanced” or “Master” level scores on their LEAP and iLEAP tests, the school has improved on the already strong academic performance of previous years.

More than 95 percent of students passed their state tests in every subject within every grade level.

At least three perfect scores of 500 were recorded in subjects at each grade level.  The fourth grade students achieved sixteen perfect 500 scores, with the eighth graders pulling off ten.

Though no students had scored “Unsatisfactory”, Early said the school was addressing the few who had achieved “Approaching Basic” ratings.  “Some of these students are students who are new to us.  They still need to get in the swing of giving more time to their studies,” she said.

Early returned to her familiar theme of re-teaching content students were having trouble with in new ways. She said that her philosophy was that “low student achievement is an adult problem.”

One of the techniques the school employs with its instructors is requiring them to teach some material designed for the grade level above the grade they are actually in.  That way, the teacher has a better understanding of how to lay the foundations for future learning.

The board moved on to discuss the future location of its new building.  Principal Early said that Board President Lee Caston “is still securing the bidding lease.”  Early said the school wanted an arrangement where they paid the lease each month, rather than having an automatic funds withdrawal in place.

The meeting was attended by members Windi D. Brown, Gina Dupart, Leila Eames, Donald Pate, and Brian Richburg, who was tardy.  Also present were CEO and Principal Madele S. Early, and Bernell St. Cyr.  Absent was President Lee Caston, and member Denise Williams.