School Spotlight: CPE and Princeton
By: Leslie Draffin
Updated: April 11, 2012
"It takes a competent caring village to raise a child and that's what Cherokee Park is, a caring village," Burton says. The school uses mentoring programs like Distinguished Young Gentlemen to encourage students. But they aren't the only ones learning here, educators use imbedded professional development to improve their teaching skills. They also have one of the best attendance rates in the state compared with other title one schools, "we want the students to enjoy coming to school, says Burton.
Princeton Elementary in Haughton was our first Bossier school in the spotlight. Unlike CPE, this school is only home to 4th and 5th grade students.
"It lets us be able to do things a little differently than a traditional K-5 school," says Principal Nancy Doerner. She says it also keeps learning focused, builds bonds, helps students who need it but doesn't leave out those who need a challenge, "we are working on the child's level."
Princeton's bond has been put to the test in the last year, after a teacher's son- Lawson Brandon- died in an A-T-V accident. To help them heal the school put up a climbing wall and memory garden to continue Lawson's legacy, "he was just such a large part of our school," says Doerner.
Two schools that are more like family, proving community support is extremely important in the education of our young people.
