Poised for greatness

• By CHARLES LUSSIER
• Advocate staff writer
• Published: Oct 7, 2008 - Page: 1B - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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On the second floor of Istrouma High School, a quiet experiment in public education is showing early signs of promise.

In its first year, which ended in May, East Baton Rouge Laboratory Academy, or EBR Lab as it’s usually called, performed at least as well as other high schools in the parish. In English, the ninth-graders for this school-within-a-school ranked fifth out of 18 high schools.

EBR Lab also met other academic goals in its performance contract: high daily student attendance, low dropout rates, as well as high course passage and grade promotion rates.

An early critic, School Board member Tarvald Smith, said he has changed his opinion, noting a well-attended parent open house last week.

“I’ve been their biggest critic, but after that open house, I’m almost their biggest fan,” Smith told Principal David Zielinski at a meeting Thursday.

Interim Chief Academic Officer Herman Brister said his staff is assessing EBR Lab to see whether it makes sense to create more small schools like it.

Small, but growing
Unlike most local public high schools, EBR Lab draws from the entire parish, but has no admission requirements. The school — located in north Baton Rouge — is adding one grade a year and by fall 2010 will top out at 400 students. No individual class has more than 25 students.

EBR Lab currently has about 185 students in the ninth and 10th grades, reflecting basically the same student demographics of the parish school system as a whole.

Zielinski said the school has a strong faculty and is poised for greatness, citing the value of parents and students choosing to come to the school.

“When they choose, their involvement is usually greater,” he said.

EBR Lab is modeled on a slightly older school, Bronx Lab School in New York City, created by Baton Rouge native Marc Sternberg.

After Hurricane Katrina, the East Baton Rouge school system and Baton Rouge leaders secured a $3.1 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to improve public education in Baton Rouge. Part of that grant called for the creation of small high schools.

EBR Lab was the first of two such autonomous schools, which have more flexibility than a traditional Louisiana public high school, but remain part of a public school system. The autonomous schools, however, are less independent than charter schools.